It always feels better to be exhausted from taking little steps forward, than it does to be tired of doing absolutely nothing.

In 1911 two explorers, Amundsen and Scott, embarked on a race against each other to become the first known human being to set foot upon the southernmost point of Earth. It was the age of Antarctic exploration, as the South Pole represented one of the last uncharted areas in the world. Amundsen wished to plant the Norwegian flag there on behalf of his country, while Scott hoped to stake his claim for England.

The journey there and back from their base camps was about 1,400 miles, which is roughly equivalent to a round-trip hike from New York City to Chicago. Both men would be traveling the same exact distance on foot through extremely cold and harsh weather conditions. And both men were equally equipped with experience, supplies, and a supporting team of fellow explorers. But what wasn’t certain is how each of them would approach the inevitable challenges they faced on the road ahead.

As it turned out, Amundsen and Scott took entirely different approaches to the very same challenges.

Scott directed his team to hike as far as possible on the good weather days and then rest on bad weather days to conserve energy. Conversely, Amundsen directed his team to follow a strict regimen of consistent daily progress by hiking exactly 20 miles every day, regardless of weather conditions. Even on the warmest, clear-sky days, when Amundsen’s team was capable of hiking much farther, Amundsen was absolutely adamant that they travel no more than 20 miles to conserve their energy for the following day’s hike.

Which team succeeded in the end?

The team that took consistent daily action.

Why?

Because what we do EVERY day defines us!

Today’s progress is always compounded by yesterday’s effort, no matter how small.

And it all comes down to the power of consistent self-discipline.

Think about the most common problems we deal with in our modern lives — from lack of presence to lack of exercise to unhealthy diets to procrastination, and so forth. In most cases, problems like these are not caused not by a physically present limitation, but by a weakness of the mind — specifically, a lack of self-discipline.

We put the hard things off until tomorrow — because the “weather” is bad — until we’ve lost our edge. We grow accustomed to the idea that things should be easier than they are, and that waiting another day or two makes the best sense. Then one day we wake up and we’re emotionally incapable of doing the hard things that must be done — it’s too late.

Let this be your wake-up call!

Your mind and body both need to be exercised to gain strength. They need to be challenged, and they need to be worked consistently, to grow and develop over time. If you haven’t pushed yourself in lots of little ways over time — if you always avoid doing the hard things — of course you’ll crumble on the inevitable days that are harder than you expected.

And if I had to guess, I’d say Scott’s team suffered in exactly this way. They tried to make things easier on themselves — the fantasy of “easier” became their mantra — their subconscious goal. But this fantasy was never going to be a reality during a 1,400-mile footrace in the South Pole.

Scott’s team lost the race, not just on the ground, but in their heads first.

They were convinced that waiting made things easier.

Don’t follow in their footsteps — don’t wait until it’s too late!

Remember, many great things can be done in a day if you don’t always make that day tomorrow. Take positive action and plant the right seeds in your life right now. Nature herself does not distinguish between what seeds she receives. She grows whatever seeds are planted. This is the way life works. Be mindful of the seeds you plant today, as they will become the crop you harvest tomorrow.

So with that principle in mind, I want to share some key daily practices we’ve seen make all the difference in the lives of hundreds of our coaching clients, course members, and live event attendees over the past 16 years — simple (but far from easy) things they do every day that ultimately move their lives forward.

1. Start letting go of rigid ideals and expectations.

When a thought comes to mind, ask yourself if it’s helping you grow or holding you back. Take back control! Make the unconscious conscious, and let go of what isn’t serving you. This form of letting go is not giving up, it’s surrendering any obsessive emotional attachment to particular people, outcomes, and situations. It means showing up every day in your life with the intention to be your best self, and to do the best you know how, without expecting life to go exactly as planned. Have goals, have dreams, take purposeful action, and build great relationships, but detach from what every aspect of your life must absolutely look like to be “good enough” for you. Just accept reality and then respond effectively. Focus on what matters — what moves you forward today — and let go of what does not.

2. Start putting your heart and soul into the little things you do.

There’s a big difference between empty fatigue and gratifying exhaustion. Life is too short. Invest daily in meaningful activities. Don’t wait around! Too often we wait, because we think we need to “find” something new or different to be passionate about. But that’s not true. If you want more passion in your life right now, act accordingly right now!

Put your whole heart and soul into the next thing you do. Not into tomorrow’s opportunities, but the opportunity right in front of you. Not into tomorrow’s tasks, but today’s tasks. Not into tomorrow’s run, but today’s run. Not into tomorrow’s conversations, but today’s conversations. I’m absolutely certain you have plenty in your life right now that’s worth your time, energy, and passionate focus. You have people and circumstances in your life that need you as much as you need them. You have a massive reservoir of passionate potential within you, just waiting. Stop waiting! There is no tomorrow. Put your heart and soul into what you’ve got right in front of you! Become it, let it become you, and great things will happen for you, to you, and because of you.

3. Start stretching yourself to the edge of your ability.

When you’re struggling to make progress, that’s when you actually are. Let that sink in. It’s far wiser to spend an extremely high quality ten minutes stretching yourself, than it is to spend a mediocre hour sitting comfortably in place. You want to be stretched to the edge of your ability at least once a day; it needs to be somewhat difficult and slightly uncomfortable for a little while. But most of us don’t want to be uncomfortable, so we run from the possibility of discomfort constantly. The obvious problem with this is that, by running from discomfort, we are constrained to partake in only the activities and opportunities within our comfort zones. And since our comfort zones are relativity small, we miss out on most of life’s greatest and healthiest experiences, and we get stuck in a debilitating cycle with our goals. We keep doing what we’ve always done, and thus we keep getting the results we’ve always gotten. And our true potential falls by the wayside.

Choose differently! Go to environments that expand your mind. Spend time with people who inspire you to stretch yourself. Read books. Grow. Get better. Your life is mostly your choice.

4. Start giving yourself more grace when things don’t go well.

It’s incredibly easy to overestimate the significance of a single decision, outcome, or event in the heat of the moment. But you must remind yourself to take a deep breath when things don’t go your way. Your results in the long run — good or bad — are always the byproduct of many small steps, outcomes, and events that transpire over time.

The truth is we all fail sometimes. The greater truth is that no single failure ever defines us. Learn from your mistakes, grow wiser, and press on. Character and wisdom are sculpted gradually. They come with loss, lessons, and triumphs. They come after doubts, second guesses, and uncertainty. The seeds of your success are planted in your past troubles and failures. Your best stories will come from overcoming your greatest challenges. Your praises will be birthed from your pains. So keep standing, keep learning, and keep living.

5. Start side-stepping unnecessary drama.

Tune out the cheap shots people take at you along the way. Don’t waste words on people who deserve your silence. Sometimes the most powerful thing you can say is nothing at all. Seriously, before you waste it on anger, spite or frustration, think of how precious and irreplaceable your time is today. Give yourself a permanent break from the drama that can be easily avoided — don’t engage in it.

Life is just too short to constantly argue and fight. Count your blessings, value the people who matter, and move on from the drama with your head held high. Remind yourself that calmness is a human superpower. The ability to not overreact or take things personally keeps your mind clear, your heart at peace, and yourself moving forward. So take constructive criticism seriously, but not personally. Listen to others, and then operate with your own intuition and wisdom as your guide.

6. Start being true to your values and convictions.

Rejections don’t matter that much in the long run. Accept them and refocus your attention on what does matter. What does matter is how you see yourself. So always make a habit of staying 100% true to your values and convictions, regardless of what others think. Never be ashamed of doing what feels right…

To help you implement this positive habit, start by listing out 5-10 things that are important to you when it comes to building your character and living your life. For example, Honesty, Reliability, Self-Respect, Self-Discipline, Compassion, and Kindness. Having a short list like this to reference will give you an opportunity to consciously invoke and uphold your handpicked traits and behaviors in place of doing something random simply for the purpose of external validation. (Note: Angel and I discuss this in more detail in the Self-Love chapter of “1,000 Little Things Happy, Successful People Do Differently”.)

7. Start looking for silver linings.

The most powerful weapon against stress on the average day is our ability to choose one thought over another. Train your mind to see the good. Studies have shown that doctors who are put in a positive mood before making a diagnosis consistently experience significant boosts to their intellectual abilities than doctors in a neutral state, which allows them to make accurate diagnoses almost 20% faster. Similar studies of other vocations have shown that optimistic salespeople outsell their pessimistic counterparts by over 50%, and university students primed to feel happy before taking math exams statistically outperform their neutral peers. It turns out that our minds are literally hardwired to perform at their best not when they are negative, or even neutral, but when they are positive.

So think a little less about managing your problems and a little more about managing your mindset. Do your best to keep it positive.

8. Start focusing inward more often.

Do your best to focus inward as often as necessary, especially when you need a moment of clarity. And remember that your time spent focusing inward and finding clarity doesn’t just help you — your mind is powerful and your thoughts create ripples in other people’s lives. When you bring clarity into your life, you bring the best of yourself into everything you do — you tend to treat yourself and others better, communicate more constructively, do things for the right reasons, and ultimately improve the world you’re living in. This is why daily praying, or simply reflecting on some positive quotes, can actually make a real-world difference in your life. A heightened level of your conscious awareness — mental clarity — elevates you in countless ways. And then interesting things begin happening — good things that are outside of your immediate purview… good things you haven’t even thought of yet.

9. Start embracing your humanness.

“Human” is the only real label we are born with, yet we forget so easily. To become attached to a loaded label of overweight, divorced, diseased, rejected, or poor, is to be like the rain, that doesn’t know it is also the clouds… or the ice, that forgets it is water. For we are far more than the shape we’re currently in. And we, like the wind, water, and sky, will change forms many times in our lives, while forever remaining beautifully human.

Once we fully embrace our humanness, it’s almost funny to see how quickly we outgrow what we once thought we couldn’t live without… and then we fall in love with what we didn’t even know we wanted. Take this to heart. And don’t forget to pause at least once a day to appreciate how far you’ve come. You’ve been through a lot, and you’ve grown a lot too. Give yourself credit for the steps you’ve taken, so you can step forward again with grace.

10. Start taking the next small step, and the next.

Sometimes it’s really hard to get going again. This is how Angel and I felt 20 years ago when we were stuck in a rut after simultaneously losing two loved ones to death. It was really hard to move when we didn’t think we had the strength to push forward. But we pushed ourselves to take one small step every day — one journal entry, one workout, one honest conversation, and so forth — and it felt good, and we got stronger. And believe it or not, that’s basically what I did again this morning…

Earlier today I was struggling to motivate myself after a pretty significant business opportunity fell through. I was feeling utterly defeated. So I took the tiniest possible step. Just turning on my laptop, opening up the word processing application, and writing a single sentence. Such an action is so small as to seem insignificant, and yet so easy as to be possible when I was feeling defeated. And it showed me that the next step was possible, and the next. And the end result is the article you’ve just finished reading.

Now it’s your turn…

The next step forward is yours for the taking. Just pick one of the aforementioned points and start focusing on it for 20 minutes every day. The key is making sustainable shifts in your beliefs and behavior. That means practicing each point gradually — one at a time, one day at a time, and then letting them build on one another. Go from zero to 10 over the course of six months or so, not all at once.

Will it be easy?

Not likely.

As you marshal forward in life, adversity is inescapable. It’s much like walking into a turbulent winter storm — like the ones Amundsen and Scott encountered on their race in the South Pole — as you fight to push onward, you not only gain strength, but it tears away from you all but the essential parts of you that cannot be torn. Once you come out of the storm you see yourself as you really are, in raw form, without the baggage that’s been holding you back. And that makes all the difference, because it frees you to take the next step, and the next…

But before you go, please leave Angel and me a comment below and let us know what you think of this essay. Your feedback is important to us.

Which one of the points above resonated the most today?

Also, if you haven’t done so already, be sure to sign-up for our free newsletter to receive new articles like this in your inbox each week.

If we have learned just one thing recently, it’s that we need to be gentle with ourselves and others. We’re all in this crazy world together, and we all get weary at times. Be recklessly gracious!

The wisest, most loving, and well-rounded people you have ever met are likely those who have been shattered in some way. Yes, life often creates the greatest humans by breaking them first. It’s the painstaking journey of falling apart and coming back together that fills their hearts and minds with a level of compassion, understanding, and deep-loving wisdom that can’t possibly be acquired any other way.

Angel and I have worked with hundreds of these incredible people over the past 16 years, both online and offline, through various forms of coaching and live events. In many cases they came to us feeling stuck and lost, unaware of their own brilliance, blind to the fact that their struggles have strengthened them and given them a resilient upper hand in this crazy world. Honestly, many of these people are now our biggest heroes. Over the years they have given us as much, if not more, than we have given them. And they continue to be some of our greatest sources of inspiration.

So today, to honor these unlikely heroes of ours, we want to share a selection of their stories with you (with full permission, of course). Below you will find tiny excerpts from 20 emails we’ve received over the years — they are super short but incredibly powerful accounts of real life, real struggle, and the human resilience required to take the next step. There’s definitely something here for all of us to think about and reflect on:

1. Happier Now

“It’s been exactly ten years since my controlling, abusive ex-fiancé sold my favorite guitar which cost almost $2,000 and took me ages to save for. He sold it on the day I broke up with him. When I went to pick up my belongings, he was proud that he had sold it to a local pawnshop. Luckily, I managed to track down the guy who bought it from the pawnshop. The guy was really sweet and gave it back to me for free, on the condition that I join him on his front porch for an hour and play guitar with him. He grabbed a second guitar and we ended up sitting there on his porch for the rest of the afternoon playing music, talking, and laughing. He’s been my husband for almost nine years now, and we are happier now than ever.”

2. Absolutely OK

“The happiest moment of my life is still that split-second a year ago when, as I laid crushed under a 2000-pound car, I realized my husband and nine-year-old son were out of the vehicle and completely uninjured.”

3. Second Chance

“Today, on my 47th birthday, I re-read the death note I wrote on my 27th birthday about two minutes before my girlfriend showed up at my apartment and told me, ‘I’m pregnant.’ She was honestly the only reason I didn’t follow through with it. Suddenly I felt I had something to live for. Today she’s my wife and we’ve been happily married for 19 years. And my daughter, who is now a 19-year-old college student, has two younger brothers. I re-read my death note every year on my birthday as a reminder to be thankful — I’m thankful I got a second chance at life.”

4. First Time

“Last night just before bed, my daughter, whom I adopted three years ago at the age of seven, called me ‘mom’ for the very first time.”

5. I Remember

“It’s been five years since my mom — my best friend in the world — was in a car accident that resulted in her losing all of her long-term memory from before the crash. When I was little my mom and I used to quote a Winnie The Pooh book as an inside joke. One of us would ask, “Have you ever seen a dragon fly?” And the other would reply, ‘I have, I have seen a dragon fly!’ This evening I was sitting with her while we were watching TV and I randomly asked, ‘Have you ever seen a dragon fly?’ And she responded with, ‘I have, I have seen a dragon fly!’ We stared at each other for a prolonged moment, and then she jumped out of her seat and exclaimed, ‘Oh my gosh, I remember!’”

6. Lucky One

“I’m sitting in my hospital bed waiting to have both my breasts removed. But in a strange way I feel like the lucky one. Up until now I have had no health problems. I’m a 64-year-old woman in the last room at the end of the hall before the pediatric division of the hospital begins. Over the past few hours I have watched dozens of cancer patients being wheeled by in wheelchairs and rolling beds. None of these patients could be a day older than 17. And right now, I’m feeling like the lucky one.”

7. The One

“My dad is a blind cancer survivor. He lost both his eyes when he was in his early 30’s to a rare form of cancer. Despite this, he raised my sister and I, and took care of my mom who was in and out of rehab for alcoholism and depression. My mom is a fully recovered alcoholic now, my sister and I have graduated college, and my parents are still together and back to being happy. I’m certain none of this would have been possible if my dad hadn’t been such a resilient, positive force in our lives. My dad’s mental strength literally saved our family. And he’s the one who pointed me towards your blog, which he reads daily with text to speech software.”

8. Perfectly Healthy

“Earlier this week I went to the doctor’s office because I was experiencing awful stomach pains. They ran some tests, took blood, and told me they’d contact me in a few days. I assumed the pain was at least partially due to stress. Three weeks ago, at the age of 35, my husband, the love of my life, died from a heart attack. And this afternoon I felt another wave of despair come over me, feeling like I had nothing left. As I sat there the phone rang; it was the doctor. She said, ‘You’re perfectly healthy. You’re pregnant.’ And in that moment I cried, happy tears, for the first time three weeks. Because a couple months ago a fertility clinic discovered a condition with my husband that they said would take ‘a small miracle’ for us to get pregnant.”

9. The Guidepost

“I’m a war veteran. Upon arriving home 15 years ago from my final tour in Afghanistan, I found out that my wife had been cheating on me and had spent almost all of our savings. I had nowhere to stay and no phone and was suffering from it all. One of my close friends from high school, Shaun, and his wife, seeing that I was in need of help, took me in and let me live with their family of five. They helped me deal with my divorce and gave me space to get my life together. Since then I’ve moved into my own place, rediscovered my passion for life, opened a fairly successful local diner, and my friend’s kids call me Uncle Jay when they see me. The way they supported me and adopted me into their family in my desperate time of need is now the guidepost for how I try to live my life.”

10. I’m Back

“I’ve been dying of Leukemia since my 17th birthday. I was sent home from the hospital for my final few weeks 156 days ago. But now I’m back at the hospital being treated again, because my doctors now believe there is hope. And so do I.”

11. Home Now

“Today, after my daughter’s funeral, and several hours of tearful soul-searching, I started going through my phone and deleting two weeks’ worth of condolence messages. There were so many of them that I eventually selected ‘delete all,’ but one message didn’t delete. It was one of the last messages my daughter left me before she died, and it was still marked as ‘new.’ Sometimes my voicemail forces me to listen to old messages before I can delete them, so played it, even though I really didn’t want to at that moment. My daughter said, “Hey dad, I just wanted to let you know I’m okay and I’m home now.”

12. Our Differences

“After three years of separation, and lots of regretful drama, my ex-wife and I finally resolved our differences and we met for dinner last night. We laughed and chatted for almost five hours. Then just before we parted ways, she handed me a large envelope. In it were 20 ‘love and forgiveness’ letters she wrote me over the last three years. There was a post-it note on the envelope that read, ‘Letters I was too stubborn to send.’ And even crazier is that I wrote her a few letters too, and I still have them stored on my work computer’s desktop.”

13. Simple Pleasures

“Yesterday, after completing ten straight months of rehab at a live-in treatment center, I spent my first day out with my five-year-old daughter. We sat on my parent’s front porch all day making construction paper collages. The sight and sound of my daughter’s laughter and the simple pleasures of cutting construction paper and peeling Elmer’s glue off our hands are the best reminders I’ve had in ten months of why I’m choosing sobriety and life.”

14. Here Praying

“I was born on this day 57 years ago, but today isn’t my birthday, at least not this year. Your birthday doesn’t really come when you’re sitting in a hospital room hoping your wife of 25 years wakes up from a coma. And although the doctors are optimistic, I’m still here praying, and waiting, patiently.”

15. True Blessing

“Last night there was a family of six staying at the hotel where I work. They were hanging out in the lobby sharing stories, laughing, and taking turns reading excerpts from a joke book. I asked them where they were from. ‘Oh, we’re from here,’ the father said. ‘Our house literally burned down yesterday, but miraculously all of us got out safely. And that makes today a true blessing!’”

16. The Sunrise

“I realized that although it was the darkest period of my life, if I had not worked through and overcome those five long years of depression, I would not be here now smiling so appreciatively at the sunrise through my living room window.”

17. Better Now

“It took years, but when I finally found the courage to divorce him after decades of abuse, I found myself feeling alone because our closest mutual friends continued to believe his lies over my tears. But I’m finally making new friends — real friends — and feeling so much better now.”

18. The Truth

“I recently lost the respect of a few people I love, and the desire to hurt myself, when I finally told everyone the truth about who I really am and what I have decided to do with my life. In a nutshell, I have chosen to love and honor myself, instead of convincing others to do it for me every day.”

19. Squeezed Back

“At 8 A.M. this morning, after nearly four months of lifelessness in her hospital bed, we took my mom off life support. And her heart continued beating on its own. And she continued breathing on her own. Then this evening, when I squeezed her hand three times, she squeezed back three times.”

20. A Promise

“This afternoon, at the age of 70, I graduated from The University of North Carolina with a bachelor’s degree in business. I’ve been a successful business owner most of my life, but I decided to earn my degree to fulfill a promise I made to my mom before she lost her battle with cancer on my 20th birthday, just over 50 years ago.”

Finding Growth Through Life’s Ups & Downs

The stories above obviously hold many lessons, but as mentioned earlier, one lesson I think they collectively share is that life’s challenges don’t just break a person, they can also shape a person, gradually…

Challenging times are like strong storms that blow against your soul. And it’s not just that these storms hold you back from places you might otherwise go, they also tear away from you all but the essential parts of you that cannot be torn, so that afterward you see yourself and your priorities as they really are in the present, without all the distractions you’ve been clinging to. In a very real sense, you are here to endure these storms, to risk your heart — to be bruised by life at times. And when it happens that you are hurt, or rejected, or knocked off course, let yourself remember that life’s challenges are necessary.

In all seasons of life, your goal shouldn’t be to seek a perfect and pain-free existence, but to live an imperfect and sometimes challenging one in radical amazement. To get up every morning and take a good look around in a way that takes nothing for granted. Everything is extraordinary in its own right. Every day is a gift. To be spiritual in any way is to be amazed in every way.

And it’s important to note, too, that Angel and I don’t just preach. We’ve endured our own pain, crawled through our own strong storms, and learned from firsthand experience many times over. Over the past couple of decades we have dealt with several severe hardships, including the sudden death of a sibling, the loss of a best friend to illness, significant betrayal from a business partner, an unexpected breadwinning employment layoff that forced us out of our home, and more. These experiences were brutal. Each of them knocked us down hard and kept us down for a while. But when our time of mourning was over after each hardship, we pressed forward with a greater understanding and respect for life. (Angel and I discuss our journey and life story more in the books “Getting Back to Happy” and “1,000 Little Things Happy, Successful People Do Differently”.)

Now it’s your turn…

Yes, it’s your turn to own your story, and to not let life’s bitterness steal your sweetness. Remember, no life story is one chapter long, no chapter tells the whole tale, and no isolated event entirely defines who you are. Give yourself grace when you must, and keep turning the pages that need to be turned.

But before you go, please leave Angel and me a comment below and let us know what you think of this post. Your feedback is important to us.

Which tiny story above resonated the most today? Anything else to share?

Finally, if you haven’t done so already, be sure to sign-up for our free newsletter to receive new articles like this in your inbox each week.

Life is full of challenges, but it’s how we respond to them that determines our future. The key to transforming any aspect of our life is not just wishing things will get better, but actively seeking solutions. In his insightful message, Apostle Joshua Selman teaches that in order to break free from cycles of failure, we must force things to work by applying knowledge, responsibility, and prayer. Below are the key principles that can help you push through obstacles and experience real transformation.

1. Recognize What’s Not Working

Before you can fix a problem, you must first identify it. Apostle Selman emphasizes the importance of self-examination—finding out what is not working in your life is the first step toward change. Whether it’s a health issue, financial struggle, or a spiritual battle, knowing the root cause of your challenges is half the battle. Just like a consultant or a doctor diagnoses a problem before offering a solution, we must diagnose the issues in our lives before seeking answers.

2. Embrace Brokenness for Restoration

One of the most powerful lessons is the role of brokenness in transformation. When we come to God with humility, brokenness, and a willingness to change, we invite His power to restore what has been lost. Apostle Selman explains that brokenness isn’t about condemnation but about surrendering fully to God, acknowledging our weaknesses, and realizing that only He can help us overcome them. This state of brokenness attracts God’s mercy, which is crucial for any restoration to take place.

3. Take Responsibility for Your Life

We often find ourselves blaming circumstances or people for our situation, but the truth is, that taking responsibility for where you are right now is essential for moving forward. Apostle Selman challenges us to stop making excuses and take ownership of our lives. The moment you take responsibility is the moment you begin to move toward solutions. Whether it’s a financial issue, health problem, or relationship struggle, you can’t change what you don’t acknowledge.

4. The Power of Knowledge

To force things to work, you must constantly seek higher levels of knowledge. Whether it’s through reading books, attending conferences, or listening to teachings, knowledge is a tool that empowers us to solve problems and overcome limitations. Apostle Selman stresses that knowledge is the key to unlocking the potential in every situation. For example, if you’re struggling financially or facing health issues, don’t just pray for a miracle—seek the knowledge that will help you understand and overcome the problem.

Knowledge is power, and when you invest in learning and expanding your understanding, you prepare yourself to deal with life’s challenges effectively. This principle applies to every area of life, from finances to health to personal growth.

5. Stop Making Excuses and Act

We often wait for the right moment or for a divine intervention before we take action. Apostle Selman encourages us to stop waiting and start taking practical steps now. Whether it’s pursuing knowledge, seeking guidance, or making changes to your habits, action is crucial. God is always ready to help those who help themselves. The key is to stop making excuses and force things to work through the power of your own decisions and actions.

6. Address Key Life Areas: Finances, Health, and Spiritual Warfare

In his message, Apostle Selman identifies three major areas where many believers struggle: finances, health, and spiritual warfare. These areas often require deep knowledge, dedication, and prayer.

• Finances: Financial stability is vital for personal growth, the advancement of God’s kingdom, and the well-being of our families. Don’t allow poverty to dictate your life. Seek financial knowledge and apply biblical principles to break the chains of poverty.
• Health: Our bodies are the temples of the Holy Spirit, and we are called to take care of them. Apostle Selman highlights that more and more young people are suffering from health problems that were once reserved for older generations. Taking care of your health through proper nutrition, exercise, and spiritual intervention is essential.
• Spiritual Warfare: As believers, we are in a constant battle against unseen forces. Knowledge about spiritual warfare and how to protect yourself from demonic influence is necessary for living a victorious Christian life.

7. Pray the Prayer of Restoration

Restoration is an essential part of the process. Apostle Selman teaches that there is a specific prayer of restoration for believers who have experienced setbacks, losses, or challenges. God promises to restore the years that the locusts have eaten (Joel 2:25). If you feel like you’ve lost time or opportunities, pray for restoration. Cry out to God for His intervention and believe that He can bring back what has been stolen.

The story of the Prodigal Son illustrates this point well. When the son returned to his father in a state of brokenness, the father didn’t question him about his past mistakes but welcomed him back with open arms. This act of restoration shows that when we return to God with a repentant heart, He will restore us.

8. Mercy and Surrender: The Key to a Miraculous Breakthrough

Mercy is the doorway to restoration. When you come before God with a broken and contrite heart, He is faithful to meet you at the point of your need. As Apostle Selman explains, surrendering to God and acknowledging that you have no other options left opens the door to miracles. Once you’ve reached that place of brokenness, God’s mercy can move mountains in your life.

9. Persistent Prayer and Action

In times of crisis, persistent prayer is the key to a breakthrough. Apostle Selman encourages believers not to be passive in their struggles. When you notice something is wrong, don’t wait for it to get worse—pray! The power of persistent prayer, combined with action, can bring about restoration. Just like in Acts 12, where the church prayed without ceasing for Peter’s release, consistent prayer can shift the course of events in your life.

Final Thoughts: Force Things to Work

The principles outlined in this message are powerful tools for anyone who wants to experience change and restoration. Self-examination, brokenness, taking responsibility, seeking knowledge, and persistent prayer are all crucial steps in transforming your life. By applying these keys, you can overcome the obstacles in your life and start moving toward the restoration God has promised you.

Remember, restoration isn’t just about fixing what’s broken—it’s about receiving back what has been lost and pushing forward to a better future. Don’t wait for things to get better on their own. Force things to work by taking action and seeking God’s wisdom, and you will see transformation in every area of your life.

Are you ready to force things to work in your life? Start today by seeking knowledge, praying for restoration, and taking responsibility for your journey.

“In elementary school my parents told me it didn’t matter what I did when I grew up, so long as it made me happy. ‘Happiness is the whole point of life,’ my father said. ‘But it doesn’t always come easy. Your mother loves to help people in need, so she became a psychiatric nurse. I love reading, writing and poetry, so I became an English teacher. We both find happiness in the hard work we do each day.’

A few years later when I was in junior high, my sixth-grade homeroom teacher put me in detention for ‘being difficult.’ She went around the classroom and asked each student what they wanted to be when they grew up. When she got to me, I told her I wanted to be happy. She told me I was missing the whole point of the question. I told her she was missing the whole point of life.”

That’s an old parable my grandmother recited to me countless times when I was a kid. I’ve since seen a shortened version of it circulate on social media, oftentimes being falsely attributed to John Lennon, Goldie Hawn, and others. While the internet sleuths seem conflicted over who penned the very first version of the parable, it’s a story that has always stuck with me. Sure it oversimplifies the complexities of happiness, but it makes some good points too. And my grandma’s version has that line about “finding happiness in hard work,” which is a fundamental concept that still resonates deeply with me today.

As adults, Angel and I have spent nearly two decades working one-on-one with hundreds of our coaching clients, book readers, and live event attendees who struggle with variations of that very concept — finding happiness when life demands that we work hard for it. So many of us attach to the expectation that life should be easier than it is. Regardless of what we choose to do “when we grow up,” we subconsciously fantasize that our chosen path will have very few detours, interruptions, or inconveniences. And then we wait around day after day for things to get easier, as countless good opportunities pass us by.

Whenever you catch yourself stuck in this kind of unproductive cycle, remind yourself…

1. You need to do some hard things to be happy in life (and you can).

Yes, you need to do the things most people would rather avoid — the things that make you uncomfortable, that are far easier to run from, that others can’t possibly do for you… the things that make you stronger but also make you question how you’re going to find the strength to push forward.

Why?

Because those hard things ultimately build you up and change your life. They make the difference between existing and living, between knowing the path and walking it, between a lifetime of empty promises to yourself and one filled with purpose, progress, and fulfillment.

The key?

Consistent and passionate daily action!

Learn to believe in your heart that you’re meant to live each day full of passion and purpose — that each and every moment is worthy in its own way. And remind yourself that passion is not something you find in life; it’s something you do. When you want to find the passion and inner strength needed to change your situation, you have to push yourself to step forward.

Many of us are still hopelessly trying to “find our passion” — something that we believe will lead us closer to happiness, success, or the life situation we ultimately want. And I say “hopelessly” primarily because passion can’t really be found. When we say we’re trying to find our passion, it implies that our passion is somehow hiding behind a tree or under a rock somewhere. But that’s far from the truth. The truth is, our passion comes from doing things right. If you’re waiting to somehow “find your passion” somewhere outside yourself, so you finally have a reason to put your whole heart and soul into your life and the changes you need to make, you’ll likely be waiting around for an eternity.

On the other hand, if you’re tired of waiting, and you’d rather live more passionately starting today and experience small positive changes, it’s time to proactively inject passion into the very next thing you do. Think about it:

• When was the last time you sat down and had a conversation with someone nearby, with zero distractions and 100 percent focus?
• When was the last time you exercised and put every bit of effort you could muster into it?
• When was the last time you truly tried — truly tried — to do your very best?

Like most of us, you’re likely putting a halfhearted effort into most of the things you do on a daily basis. Because you’re still waiting. You’re still waiting to “find” something to be passionate about — some magical reason to step into the life you want to create for yourself. But you need to do the exact opposite!

2. Putting your whole heart and soul into ordinary moments is what creates life’s magic.

Going back to when I was a kid again, my grandmother used to tell me, “Stop waiting for better opportunities. The one you have in front of you is the best opportunity.” She also said, “Too often we spend too much time making it perfect in our heads before we ever even do it. Stop waiting for perfection and just do your best with what you have today, and then improve it tomorrow.”

Believe it or not, recent psychological research indirectly reinforces my grandmother’s sentiments. For many years, psychologists believed our minds could directly affect our physical state of being, but never the other way around. Nowadays, however, it is widely documented that our bodies — for example, our momentary facial expressions and body posture — can directly affect our mental state of being too. So while it’s true that we change from the inside out, we also change from the outside in.  And you can make this reality work for you. If you want more passion and happiness in your life right now, act accordingly right now.

Put your heart and soul into something!

Not into tomorrow’s opportunities, but into the opportunity right in front of you.

Not into tomorrow’s tasks, but into today’s tasks.

Not into tomorrow’s run, but into today’s run.

Not into tomorrow’s relationships, but into today’s relationships.

Angel and I are certain you have plenty in your life right now that’s worth your time and energy. You have people and circumstances in your life that need you as much as you need them. You have a massive reservoir of potential passion within you, just waiting…

3. Stop waiting — that’s the real lesson here!

It’s not too late, but you do have to get started sooner rather than later. In other words, you don’t need to have it all figured out to take the next step. But you do need to take the next step to figure it out. And as you struggle forward, remember, it is far better to be exhausted from taking small steps forward, than it is to be tired of waiting around doing absolutely nothing.

Truth be told, if you wait for “the right time” — if you wait until you feel 100% ready — you will be waiting the rest of your life. Take this to heart right now. Most people wait too long to live their best lives. They wait all day for 5pm, all week for Friday, all year for the holidays, all their lives for passion and happiness. Don’t be one of them!

Just keep reminding yourself that new paths are made by walking, not waiting. And no, you shouldn’t feel any more confident before you take the next step. Taking the next step is what gradually builds your confidence, and creates progress in life.

Today is the day, now is the time — it’s your turn…

Just put your heart and soul into what you’ve got right in front of you today.

But before you go, please leave Angel and me a comment below and let us know what you think of this essay. Your feedback is important to us.

Which one of the points above resonated the most today?

Also, if you haven’t done so already, be sure to sign-up for our free newsletter to receive new articles like this in your inbox each week.

The truth does not cease to exist when it is forgotten or ignored.

You know how you can hear or read something dozens of times in various ways before it finally sinks in? The truths listed below fall firmly into that category — timeless lessons that many of us probably learned years ago, and have been reminded of ever since, yet for whatever reason we tend to forget in the heat of the moment.

This, my friends, is my attempt at helping all of us, myself included, “get it” and “remember it” once and for all…

1. Life is relatively short and nothing is guaranteed.

We know deep down that life is short, and that death will happen to all of us eventually, and yet we are infinitely surprised when it happens to someone we know. It’s like walking up a flight of stairs with a distracted mind, and misjudging the final step. You expected there to be one more stair than there is, and so you find yourself off balance for a moment, before your mind shifts back to reality and how the world really is.

So let that reminder be a wake-up call to truly live your life today! Don’t ignore death, but don’t be afraid of life either. Be afraid of a life you never lived because you were too afraid to take positive action. Death is not the greatest loss in life, and neither is injury. The greatest loss is what dies inside you while you’re still alive and capable.

Even when life gets messy, be bold, be courageous, be a scared to death, and then take the next step anyway. Invest your heart and soul into whatever you have right in front of you. Bring passion into otherwise ordinary moments… Love what you do, until you can do what you love. Love where you are, until you can be where you love. Love the people you’re with, until you can be with the people you love most. This is the way we find more happiness, opportunity, and peace on the average day.

2. Everything will change again soon.

Embrace change and realize that it’s necessary. It won’t always be obvious at first, but in the end most forms of change are worthwhile because they force us to grow. So keep yourself in check right now…

What you have today may become what you had by tomorrow. You never know. Things change, often spontaneously. People and circumstances come and go. Life doesn’t stop for anybody. It moves rapidly and rushes from calm to chaos in a matter of seconds, and happens like this to people every day. It’s likely happening to someone nearby right now.

Sometimes the shortest split second in time changes the direction of our lives. A seemingly innocuous decision rattles our whole world like a meteorite striking Earth. Entire lives have been swiveled and flipped upside down, for better or worse, on the strength of an unpredictable event. And these events are always happening — like all the senseless violence and drama we see in our world today.

So just remember, however good or bad a situation is now, it will change. That’s the one thing you can count on. Accept it. Breathe. Be where you are. You’re where you need to be right now. There’s a time and place for everything, and every hard step is necessary. Just keep doing your best, and don’t force what’s not yet supposed to fit into your life. When it’s meant to be, it will be.

3. Changing your response is what puts you back in control.

Have patience with everything that remains imperfect or unfinished in your head and heart. And realize that patience is not about waiting, but the ability to keep a good attitude while working hard for what you believe in. This is your life and it’s governed by your daily decisions. May your actions speak louder than your words. May your results preach louder than your lips. May your inner sense of satisfaction be your noise in the end.

Remind yourself that taking a meaningful step forward right now is worth it. Even if the road ahead seems long and rough — even if there are lots of unknowns — be brave enough to stand up for yourself and control the direction of your momentum. And remember that the most powerful moments in life happen when you find the courage to let go of what can’t be changed. Because as Viktor Frankl said, when you are no longer able to change a situation, you are challenged to change yourself — to grow beyond the unchangeable. And that changes everything! (Note: Marc and I discuss this in more detail in the Passion & Growth chapter of “1,000 Little Things Happy, Successful People Do Differently”.)

4. Life’s storms can be a source of long-term strength.

Hard times are like strong storms that blow against you. And it’s not just that these storms hold you back from places you are trying to go. They also tear away from you all but the essential parts of your ego that cannot be torn, so that you are left only with the foundation of who you really are.

Ultimately you realize you are here to endure these storms, to sacrifice your time and risk your heart. You are here to be bruised by life. And when it happens that you are hurt, or betrayed, or rejected, let yourself sit quietly with your eyes closed and remember all the good times you had, and all the sweetness you tasted, and everything you learned. Tell yourself how amazing it was to live, and then open your eyes and live some more.

Because to never struggle would be to never grow. You must let go of who you were so you can become who you are. Again, it is within the depths of the strongest and darkest storms that you often discover within you an inextinguishable light, and it is this light that illuminates the path forward.

5. You don’t need all the answers right now.

Accept the feeling of not knowing exactly where you are going, and train yourself to love and appreciate this sensation of freedom. Because it is only when you are suspended in the air, with no destination in sight, that you force your wings to open fully so you can fly. And as you soar around you still may not know where you’re traveling to. But that’s not what’s important. What’s important is the opening of your wings. You may not know where you’re going, but you know that so long as your wings are spread, the winds will carry you forward.

Truth be told, some of the greatest outcomes that transpire in your life will be the ones you never even knew you wanted. As long as you keep your mind open to new perspectives while you’re moving forward, there really are no totally wrong turns in life, only paths you didn’t know you were meant to travel. And you never can be certain what’s around the corner.  It could be everything, or it could be nothing. You keep gliding steadily forward, and then one day you realize you’ve come a long way from where you started.

All details aside, someday all the pieces will come together. Unimaginably good outcomes will likely transpire in your life, even if everything doesn’t turn out exactly the way you had anticipated. And you will look back at the messy times that have passed, smile, and ask yourself…

“How in the world did I get through all of that?”

Now it’s your turn…

Yes, it’s your turn to give yourself grace for the times when you’ve lacked clarity, and for the poor choices that accidentally hurt others or yourself. Give yourself grace for being young and reckless. We’ve all made mistakes and been foolish at times. These are vital lessons, and what matters most right now is the willingness to learn and grow from them.

But before you go, please leave Marc and me a comment below and let us know what you think of this essay. Your feedback is important to us.

Which one of the points above resonated the most today?

Finally, if you haven’t done so already, be sure to sign-up for our free newsletter to receive new articles like this in your inbox each week.

It always feels better to be exhausted from taking small steps forward, than it does to be tired of doing absolutely nothing.

In 1911 two explorers, Amundsen and Scott, embarked on a race against each other to become the first known human being to set foot upon the southernmost point of Earth. It was the age of Antarctic exploration, as the South Pole represented one of the last uncharted areas in the world. Amundsen wished to plant the Norwegian flag there on behalf of his country, while Scott hoped to stake his claim for England.

The journey there and back from their base camps was about 1,400 miles, which is roughly equivalent to a round-trip hike from New York City to Chicago. Both men would be traveling the same exact distance on foot through extremely cold and harsh weather conditions. And both men were equally equipped with experience, supplies, and a supporting team of fellow explorers. But what wasn’t certain is how each of them would approach the inevitable challenges they faced on the road ahead.

As it turned out, Amundsen and Scott took entirely different approaches to the very same challenges.

Scott directed his team to hike as far as possible on the good weather days and then rest on bad weather days to conserve energy. Conversely, Amundsen directed his team to follow a strict regimen of consistent daily progress by hiking exactly 20 miles every day, regardless of weather conditions. Even on the warmest, clear-sky days, when Amundsen’s team was capable of hiking much farther, Amundsen was absolutely adamant that they travel no more than 20 miles to conserve their energy for the following day’s hike.

Which team succeeded in the end?

The team that took consistent daily action.

Why?

Because what we do EVERY day defines us!

Today’s progress is always compounded by yesterday’s effort, no matter how small.

And it all comes down to the power of consistent self-discipline.

Think about the most common problems we deal with in our modern lives — from lack of presence to lack of exercise to unhealthy diets to procrastination, and so forth. In most cases, problems like these are not caused not by a physically present limitation, but by a weakness of the mind — specifically, a lack of self-discipline.

We put the difficult things off until tomorrow — because the “weather” is bad — until we’ve lost our edge. We grow accustomed to the idea that things should be easier than they are, and that waiting another day or two makes the best sense. Then one day we wake up and we’re emotionally incapable of doing the difficult things that must be done — it’s too late.

Let this be your wake-up call!

Your mind and body both need to be exercised to gain strength. They need to be challenged, and they need to be worked consistently, to grow and develop over time. If you haven’t pushed yourself in lots of little ways over time — if you always avoid doing the difficult things — of course you’ll crumble on the inevitable days that are harder than you expected.

And if I had to guess, I’d say Scott’s team suffered in exactly this way. They tried to make things easier on themselves — the fantasy of “easier” became their mantra — their subconscious goal. But this fantasy was never going to be a reality during a 1,400-mile footrace in the South Pole.

Scott’s team lost the race, not just on the ground, but in their heads first.

They were convinced that waiting made things easier.

Don’t follow in their footsteps — don’t wait until it’s too late!

Remember, many great things can be done in a day if you don’t always make that day tomorrow. Take positive action and plant the right seeds in your life right now. Nature herself does not distinguish between what seeds she receives. She grows whatever seeds are planted. This is the way life works. Be mindful of the seeds you plant today, as they will become the crop you harvest tomorrow.

So with that principle in mind, I want to share some key daily practices we’ve seen make all the difference in the lives of hundreds of our coaching clients, course members, and live event attendees over the past 16 years — simple (but far from easy) things they do every day that ultimately move their lives forward.

1. Start letting go of rigid and unnecessary ideals.

When a thought comes to mind, ask yourself if it’s helping you grow or holding you back. Take back control! Make the unconscious, conscious, and let go of what isn’t serving you. This form of letting go is not giving up. It’s surrendering any obsessive emotional attachment to particular people, outcomes, or situations. It means showing up every day in your life with the intention to be your best self, and to do the best you know how, without expecting life to go a certain way. Have goals, have dreams, take purposeful action, and build great relationships, but detach from what every aspect of your life must absolutely look like to be “good enough” for you. Just accept reality and then respond effectively. Focus on what matters — what moves you forward today — and let go of what does not.

2. Start putting your heart and soul into the little things you do.

There’s a big difference between empty fatigue and gratifying exhaustion. Life is too short. Invest daily in meaningful activities. Don’t wait around! Too often we wait, because we think we need to “find” something new or different to be passionate about. But that’s not true. If you want more passion in your life right now, act accordingly right now!

Put your whole heart and soul into the next thing you do. Not into tomorrow’s opportunities, but the opportunity right in front of you. Not into tomorrow’s tasks, but today’s tasks. Not into tomorrow’s run, but today’s run. Not into tomorrow’s conversations, but today’s conversations. I’m absolutely certain you have plenty in your life right now that’s worth your time, energy, and passionate focus. You have people and circumstances in your life that need you as much as you need them. You have a massive reservoir of passionate potential within you, just waiting. Stop waiting! There is no tomorrow. Put your heart and soul into what you’ve got right in front of you! Become it, let it become you, and great things will happen for you, to you, and because of you.

3. Start stretching yourself to the edge of your ability.

When you’re struggling to make progress, that’s when you actually are. Let that sink in. It’s far wiser to spend an extremely high quality ten minutes stretching yourself, than it is to spend a mediocre hour sitting comfortably in place. You want to be stretched to the edge of your ability at least once a day; it needs to be somewhat difficult and slightly uncomfortable for a little while. But most of us don’t want to be uncomfortable, so we run from the possibility of discomfort constantly. The obvious problem with this is that, by running from discomfort, we are constrained to partake in only the activities and opportunities within our comfort zones. And since our comfort zones are relativity small, we miss out on most of life’s greatest and healthiest experiences, and we get stuck in a debilitating cycle with our goals. We keep doing what we’ve always done, and thus we keep getting the results we’ve always gotten. And our true potential falls by the wayside.

Choose differently! Go to environments that expand your mind. Spend time with people who inspire you to stretch yourself. Read books. Grow. Get better. Your life is mostly your choice.

4. Start giving yourself more grace when things don’t go well.

It’s incredibly easy to overestimate the significance of a single decision, outcome, or event in the heat of the moment. But you must remind yourself to take a deep breath when things don’t go your way. Your results in the long run — good or bad — are always the byproduct of many small steps, outcomes, and events that transpire over time.

The truth is we all fail sometimes. The greater truth is that no single failure ever defines us. Learn from your mistakes, grow wiser, and press on. Character and wisdom are sculpted gradually. They come with loss, lessons, and triumphs. They come after doubts, second guesses, and uncertainty. The seeds of your success are planted in your past troubles and failures. Your best stories will come from overcoming your greatest challenges. Your praises will be birthed from your pains. So keep standing, keep learning, and keep living.

5. Start side-stepping unnecessary drama.

Tune out the cheap shots people take at you along the way. Don’t waste words on people who deserve your silence. Sometimes the most powerful thing you can say is nothing at all. Seriously, before you waste it on anger, spite or frustration, think of how precious and irreplaceable your time is today. Give yourself a permanent break from the drama that can be easily avoided — don’t engage in it.

Life is just too short to constantly argue and fight. Count your blessings, value the people who matter, and move on from the drama with your head held high. Remind yourself that calmness is a human superpower. The ability to not overreact or take things personally keeps your mind clear, your heart at peace, and yourself moving forward. So take constructive criticism seriously, but not personally. Listen to others, and then operate with your own intuition and wisdom as your guide.

6. Start being true to your values and convictions.

Rejections don’t matter that much in the long run. Accept them and refocus your attention on what does matter. What does matter is how you see yourself. So always make a habit of staying 100% true to your values and convictions, regardless of what others think. Never be ashamed of doing what feels right…

To help you implement this positive habit, start by listing out 5-10 things that are important to you when it comes to building your character and living your life. For example, Honesty, Reliability, Self-Respect, Self-Discipline, Compassion, and Kindness. Having a short list like this to reference will give you an opportunity to consciously invoke and uphold your handpicked traits and behaviors in place of doing something random simply for the purpose of external validation. (Note: Angel and I discuss this in more detail in the Self-Love chapter of “1,000 Little Things Happy, Successful People Do Differently”.)

7. Start looking for silver linings.

The most powerful weapon against stress on the average day is our ability to choose one thought over another. Train your mind to see the good. Studies have shown that doctors who are put in a positive mood before making a diagnosis consistently experience significant boosts to their intellectual abilities than doctors in a neutral state, which allows them to make accurate diagnoses almost 20% faster. Similar studies of other vocations have shown that optimistic salespeople outsell their pessimistic counterparts by over 50%, and university students primed to feel happy before taking math exams statistically outperform their neutral peers. It turns out that our minds are literally hardwired to perform at their best not when they are negative, or even neutral, but when they are positive.

So think a little less about managing your problems and a little more about managing your mindset. Do your best to keep it positive.

8. Start focusing inward more often.

Do your best to focus inward as often as necessary, especially when you need a moment of clarity. And remember that your time spent focusing inward and finding clarity doesn’t just help you — your mind is powerful and your thoughts create ripples in other people’s lives. When you bring clarity into your life, you bring the best of yourself into everything you do — you tend to treat yourself and others better, communicate more constructively, do things for the right reasons, and ultimately improve the world you’re living in. This is why daily praying, or simply reflecting on some positive quotes, can actually make a real-world difference in your life. A heightened level of your conscious awareness — mental clarity — elevates you in countless ways. And then interesting things begin happening — good things that are outside of your immediate purview… good things you haven’t even thought of yet.

9. Start embracing your humanness.

“Human” is the only real label we are born with, yet we forget so easily. To become attached to a loaded label of overweight, divorced, diseased, rejected, or poor, is to be like the rain, that doesn’t know it is also the clouds… or the ice, that forgets it is water. For we are far more than the shape we’re currently in. And we, like the wind, water, and sky, will change forms many times in our lives, while forever remaining beautifully human.

Once we fully embrace our humanness, it’s almost funny to see how quickly we outgrow what we once thought we couldn’t live without… and then we fall in love with what we didn’t even know we wanted. Take this to heart. And don’t forget to pause at least once a day to appreciate how far you’ve come. You’ve been through a lot, and you’ve grown a lot too. Give yourself credit for the steps you’ve taken, so you can step forward again with grace.

10. Start taking the next small step, and the next.

Sometimes it’s really difficult to get going again. This is how Angel and I felt 20 years ago when we were stuck in a rut after simultaneously losing two loved ones to suicide and illness. It was really difficult to move when we didn’t think we had the strength to push forward. But we pushed ourselves to take one small step every day — one journal entry, one workout, one honest conversation, and so forth — and it felt good, and we got stronger. And believe it or not, that’s basically what I did again this morning…

Earlier today I was struggling to motivate myself after a pretty significant business opportunity fell through. I was feeling utterly defeated. So I took the tiniest possible step. Just turning on my laptop, opening up the word processing application, and writing a single sentence. Such an action is so small as to seem insignificant, and yet so easy as to be possible when I was feeling defeated. And it showed me that the next step was possible, and the next. And the end result is the article you’ve just finished reading.

Now it’s your turn…

The next step forward is yours for the taking. Just pick one of the aforementioned points and start focusing on it for 20 minutes every day. The key is making sustainable shifts in your beliefs and behavior. That means practicing each point gradually — one at a time, one day at a time, and then letting them build on one another. Go from zero to 10 over the course of six months or so, not all at once.

Will it be easy?

Not likely.

As you marshal forward in life, adversity is inescapable. It’s much like walking into a turbulent winter storm — like the ones Amundsen and Scott encountered on their race in the South Pole — as you fight to push onward, you not only gain strength, but it tears away from you all but the essential parts of you that cannot be torn. Once you come out of the storm you see yourself as you really are, in raw form, without the baggage that’s been holding you back. And that makes all the difference, because it frees you to take the next step, and the next…

But before you go, please leave Angel and me a comment below and let us know what you think of this essay. Your feedback is important to us.

Which one of the points above resonated the most today?

Also, if you haven’t done so already, be sure to sign-up for our free newsletter to receive new articles like this in your inbox each week.