“The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It is a very mean and nasty place and it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t how hard you hit; it’s about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward. How much you can take, and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done. Now, if you know what you’re worth, then go out and get what you’re worth. But you gotta be willing to take the hit, and not pointing fingers saying you ain’t where you are because of him, or her, or anybody. Cowards do that and that ain’t you. You’re better than that!”
Those are the words of Rocky Balboa and they couldn’t be more profound or true. If you really want to succeed. If you want to win. Then you have to be willing to take the hit. No matter what you are doing and no matter what area of life; career, health, relationships.
Career
If you are trying to build a business, working towards a promotion, or trying to just find a job, it is going to be hard. There are going to be people who do not want you to succeed. There will be people telling you that you can’t do it. If you really want it. Do it anyway. If it doesn’t work the first time, don’t give up. Take the hit, adjust your process and try again.
My personal career story
I can’t tell you how many times I was told that I would never be able to build a children’s museum. The naysayers came out of the woodwork. Some would laugh. Some would straight up tell me that I would not be able to do it. At times, I started to believe them. After multiple failed lease negotiations I started to think it wasn’t going to happen. But I really wanted to do it and I was really getting tired of people telling me I couldn’t. So I kept adjusting my process. With every setback, I tried again little by little pushing the project forward. Eight years later, I opened the door to HealthWorks! Kids’ Museum St. Louis, a 15,000 square foot health museum for kids. It was a dream come true and one that I never would have realized if I would have not kept moving forward as I took hit after hit.
Health
If you are trying to get or stay in shape or live with a chronic disease. It is not going to be easy! You are going to have setbacks, but you are worth it! Your health is everything. Without good health it makes it challenging to be a good employee, partner, parent, and friend. There will be times during a health routine when you miss a week or even months, the most important part is that you accept it and you start again. It is never too late to start again.
My personal health story
Focusing on my own health is one of the hardest things for me to do. It is my biggest challenge. I have always put everyone else’s needs before my own. I have always shown up for others in a way that I do not show up for myself. I view my own health as my biggest competition. I have felt every single hit throughout my health journey. There have been so many times where I could have given up. I could have accepted a doctor’s prediction that I would never run again and blamed it on disease. I could have stopped looking for a medication that would control my symptoms after failing all three pharmaceutical tiers and experiencing anaphylaxis. I could have given up in the hospital after a major surgery and lost at life. Winning at life is not giving up when it’s hard or uncomfortable. Winning is about finding every remaining ounce of energy and the tiniest piece of inspiration to keep moving forward.
Secret to Success
If success is living the life you have always wanted, then to achieve it you have to understand where you want to be and how you are going to get there. When life hits you hard it takes resilience to keep moving forward to achieve your dreams.