You are writing the story of your life- a life of greatness.  Sadly, there will be times when it doesn’t feel great. Behind the scenes, adversity and struggle are doing their work. 

What may at first look like a handicap, a shortfall, or barrier, is in fact a tool to make you stronger.  A gift given to you to help you find strength, to rise up, and succeed where others would fail.  Where you would fail if not for the strength you gained through endurance.  

Environment matters.  It makes an impact but it doesn’t have the last word.  You have what you need to overcome whatever life puts between you and the life you want.  

You can choose to see obstacles as barriers or as enablers, lifters.  Life’s experiences are choices; you get to choose whether to see things in the negative (immoveable, too large) or positive (a challenge meant to make me stronger). 

We desire good.  We yearn for the happy ending and are hard-wired to expect it.  

Today, good can be hard to find.   You may ask, “Is this as good as it gets?”   “Where is my happy ending?”  

Regardless of the challenges you face or whatever may be happening in your world, there is another chapter just around the corner. 

Goodness will prevail.  Good things will happen to you, and for you.  Good Wins. 

You will win.  

We all have Bad Days.  They are not punishment or repayment for anything we’ve done or not done.  We may not be able to prevent them, but there are things you can do to make them easier to endure and less painful.   They don’t need to derail you.  You CAN bounce back from bad days.  

You have a compass.   Everyone does.  It’s sometimes called your “still, small voice”.  It will lead you on the best path and show you the way forward.  

Finding and listening to your compass takes effort, but it provides great advice.  Trusting your gut is especially important today, during times of information overload and conflicting information.  

There were times in my life when I let loss get inside me.  It changed my perspective, took away my belief that I could be successful.  Thankfully, I worked through the tough times, and in the process, learned there are things you should do, and things you shouldn’t do, to get through the downs of life.  

Most of life is spent in the middle.  Between where you were and where you’re going.    
The middle can be messy because it’s uncertain (how long until I get the results I want?), unpredictable (where am I going?), and often out of our control.  

Something’s happening in the middle.  It serves a purpose.  You are growing, building, and preparing for what comes next.    

Uncertainty is hard; we don’t like missing information.  We fill the void with worry and imagining, sometimes creating a worst-case scenario that has no connection to reality.  
You may not be able to see today how your movie can have a happy ending, but a turnaround is ahead.  Times of trial and darkness are often followed by benefits that no one could have predicted.  Your movie can have a happy ending regardless of how things appear today.  

Hard work and character are a winning recipe for success.  The way you treat people can pay dividends, advance you, and give you advantages.  It’s the person with the whole package—knowledge and a pleasing personality—that can rise to the top and stay there at home, at work and with others. 

When facing a tough situation for a long time, it is normal to want to give up.  But this is precisely when the tide will turn, and good things will begin to happen.  You have the strength and courage to endure whatever lies before you and reach the life you dream of.