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Sometimes in life we are faced with storms. The world is not a bed of roses for one to think he can be out of wood all his life. Life has its ups and downs, its peak and valley. Though, it will be great if all our days on earth are on the up-and- up, and completely sunny. Unfortunately, they are not.

We are living in a mysterious world and anything beyond our control that happens in it is for a purpose. Your condition, sometimes, may be critical to question the fact unless you look beyond that situation. A man told me that life make no meaning to him anymore. This man, in an accident, lost his apprentice, his three children and his lovely wife, all in a single day.

Learn to endure crisis, troubles, hardships and difficulties. Let us take Job as an example. The scripture told us that he lost his wealth, his health and his children. But after this bad times, God blessed his later days more than the beginning. The Lord made him prosperous again and gave him twice as much he had before (Job 42 vs. 12).

I agree with Eli Hu, Job 36 vs. 15, that, “God teaches people with suffering and uses distress to open their eyes.” Human beings are like rubber-band which is most useful when stretched. Sorrow may sadden your face, but it eventually sharpens your understanding of issues. I want you to know that God can use the painful or negative experience you face in your life to teach you.

There is a need for us to have a holistic approach to life. No one can keep from difficulties or put off the moments of obstacles. Like bird suddenly caught in a trap, like fish caught in a net, we are trapped at some evil moment when we least expect it. That is a battle we cannot escape; we cannot cheat our way out.

Our optimism in life does not totally wipe out difficulties, set-backs and problems when they are designed to come. Nature will always take its own course and time. But it isn’t the end of the world; so don’t be discouraged when they come. Consider them as tough times, but agree with Robert H. Schuller that, “They will not last; they will come and go, and only tough people will last.” Remember, no condition is permanent. Every problem has a limited life span.

Learn to take the bull by the horns. Don’t hide from hard things of life and don’t ignore them. Meet them head on and work through them. “Only the taste of fire makes a fine steel,” said Abraham Lincoln.

Of course, “Every cloud has a silver lining.” Every adversity holds within it the seed of an undeveloped success. They are important sometime in our life because they mould us into the very shape of success we are to achieve and they also offer opportunities to excel.

Believe it or not, “You cannot be victorious in life without suffering because suffering is the golden key to victory.” Remember that there is no champion without a challenge, no crown without a cross and no testimony without a test.

He who cannot endure the bad will never see the good. If you will obtain the honey, you must endure the bees’ nasty sting. The more you endure the sting, the more honey you get. In other words: the greater the weeping, the greater the joy.

In brief, learn to adjust to bad times. Be careful not to underestimate any problem, for they are like pregnancy. Always evaluate the possible cause of your problem and read books that can offer solutions to it (Online or Offline). If necessary, meet people who know better than you and can be of help to such problems.

Show me a satisfied man and I will show you a failure. Show me also a man who has not failed once in life and I will show you a mediocre. It is difficult to be great without being once; for those that must know how to stand well must also know how to fall. Almost all the great men who have recorded substantial success in different fields of life have failed at one time or the other.

If you can acquire failure quotient (FQ), then you have the ingredients to be a winner in whatever field you enter. Failure Quotient is the ability to fail and to bounce back from failure to success, which is, allowing your failure to be your teacher. Consider what Stan Toler said, “Don’t plan to fail, but plan to learn from your mistakes.” That is why we say that experiences or mistakes are the best teacher. A wise man learns from his experience.

Failure isn’t fatal rather; it sharpens your brain and makes you recognize your errors for onward perfection. It can be a valuable experience when you learn from it. The experience will teach you how to react to similar or different cases in future and you will be better for it. The only real mistake is failure to learn from your mistake. That is why Aldous Huxley pointed out that, “Experience is not what happens to us but what we did with what happened to us.”

Oswald Avery advises: “Whenever you fall, pick something up.” Remember that on His way to Calvary, Christ fell thrice and on each occasion got stronger and more determined. Thomas Edison adds: “People are not remembered by how many times they failed but how often they succeeded.” Capture what Napoleon Hill said, “Temporary defeat is but a testing ground which may prove a blessing in disguise if it is not accepted as final.”

Do not be despondent or despair. Despite the extent of your failure, never give up. Keep hope alive. The worst response to failure is to become discouraged or quit. As I mentioned earlier, “Our greatest glory does not lie in never falling, but rising each time we fall.”

I want you to know that each failure is an opportunity for you to grow. Tom Hopkins told us that, “The single most important difference between champions and average people is their ability to handle rejection and failure.” Be informed that, “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in the time of comfort but where he stands in the time of crisis and hardship.”

Failure should be seen as a postponed success. The ability to view it (failure) with optimism creates the power that transforms failure to success. Ponder these words of Robert H. Schuller in your mind; “That you failed doesn’t mean that you are failure; it means you haven’t succeeded yet. It doesn’t mean you’ll never make it; it means it will take a longer time. It doesn’t mean you don’t have what it takes to make it; it means you have to do something in a different way. It doesn’t mean you are inferior; it means you are not perfect. It doesn’t mean you have been disgraced, it means you were willing to try. It doesn’t mean you should give up; it means you must try harder.”

Once bitten, twice shy. When you fail or when you have not succeeded, you will need to re-strategize by first examining the possible causes of your failure. Then tackle them one after the other. The only person who doesn’t have to re-strategize constantly is the person whose life has come to equilibrium with its surroundings (a dead person).

Until you confront the problem, there will be no solution. Let us reflect on this statement of Abraham Lincoln, a one-time President of America, “My great concern is not whether you have failed but whether you are content with you failure.”

The only thing that stands between you and your goals is your own fears. Fear of failure prevents you from succeeding. But, to succeed in life, you must be willing to face your worst enemy-the paralysis of fear.

To conquer in life you most conquer yourself, overcoming the fear that keeps you from trying and taking risks. Norman V. Peale advises us to do the things we fear, and death of fear is certain. To strive is to take risk. Every endeavor in life involves some amount of risk, hence nothing ventured, and nothing gained.

Remember that unless you enter the beehive, you can’t take the honey. Thus, to get ahead, you have to get started. Always dare to try no matter how difficult it may look. “Don’t be afraid of failure,” says Louis Boone, “so much that you refuse to try new things.” Of course, if David did not fight Goliath, he wouldn’t have been a world changer. Make a commitment; it is the little steps you take today that will give you courage for the big leap tomorrow.

According to Martin Luther King (jr), “if you don’t stand for anything, you fall for everything.” Dare to take risks on your life goals. It can be by trying harder, working smarter, and stretching yourself mentally, physically, and spiritually. However, do not lay all your eggs in one basket, there’s always a need for back up. You can’t become set for life by avoiding risk, but you can minimize your risk. Only calculated risks should be taken.

Do not be overwhelmed by fear. It impedes your sense of optimism; for when hope is crushed. But a hopeful heart is like a hunger ready to be satisfied.

“Make the best out of life regardless of what you are doing,” said Zig Ziglar, “if you pump long enough, and enthusiastically enough, sooner or later the efforts will bring forth reward.” Be informed that if there is no venture, there will be no success. Don’t reject an idea because there are some risks involved in it.

The fear of failure is worse than failure itself; it is better to fail than to lose fear. I agree with what David McNally says, “The mistake-riddled life is much richer, more interesting and more stimulating than the life that has never risked or taken any stand on anything.” “The tragedy of life,” according to John Mason, “is not that man loses, but that he almost wins.” Avoid these three descriptions: could have, should have, might have. They are the saddest summary of life.

The illusion of fear is as deadly as a sword or a sharp arrow. Get it as the back of your mind: one of the greatest discoveries you can make is to find that you can do what you are afraid of doing. But, even if you lose, it is only a game of life. In some cases you effort may be good enough for you to succeed. In other cases even your best may not be good enough to crown you success. Sometimes, it may come in form bad luck, which can happen to anyone. In any case, you still have to try. Focus on trying new ideas instead of avoiding mistakes.

Robert H. Schuller told us that, “People who never try because they are sure they will fail have lost the first battle.” They have lost to fear. They have been knocked out before they even got in the ring. On the contrary, when you do things you fear, you only be assured that you succeed in life’s most important battle; you defeated the fear of trying.

Recall, one man’s problem is another man’s opportunity. What would be your reaction years later, if you discover that someone had turned an adventure which you were afraid of into a great success?

We are all aware that human needs are unlimited, and that the joy of having grows in having. Hence, the number of years you live on earth must be filled with ambition. When you accomplish a particular aim, you go for another. “It is our duty as men and women to proceed (set goals) as though the limits to our abilities do not exist,” said Pieere T. Chardin. There is no limit to your achievement until you give up the ghost.

“A bad worker man,” they say, “quarrels with his tools.” So make your goals clear and specific. Take your life one step at a time; you will worry less and achieve more. Do not set unrealistic goals for yourself bearing in mind that one of the reasons why most people fail is lack of focus. You will need to set realistic expectation about what you can do today or tomorrow.

David J. Schwarts says, “Think little goals and expect little achievement. Think big goals and win big success.” Don’t be afraid to aim high when setting up your goals. Focus on it irrespective of the hindrances you may encounter in the course of your pursuit; it may be a step towards accomplishment if you persevere. Try also as much as possible to set a short term goals and whenever you achieve them, you will become more energized for subsequent undertakings.

Write out your goals. They are the parts you hope to hit, the road map for your success. Writing them down will make them more real to you, help you to get there, and keep you committed. It will keep you on track towards your goals.

Master the art of flexibility; your goals and plans are subject to adjustment as things change. Don’t be static, review and upgrade them with time. Discontinue the way you pursue your goal if it is not yielding the desired result. Change your style, and it will consequently start producing something better.

Constant practice is a sine qua non for achieving your set goals. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence is not an act but is achieved through practice. In the pursuit of your goals, resolve to do something every day to move yourself forward to the attainment of one or more of your most important goals, no matter how small it may be. “Inches make champions,” says Vince Lombardi.

I want you to know that every day is important and there is no day you won’t have what will make you great. Truly, if you thing of each day as an important step towards your achievement, your goals won’t seem boring to you. The daily works on your goals enable you to develop and maintain a certain degree of momentum.

If you wait until the wind and the weather are just right, you will never sow anything and never harvest anything. “I program myself for success everyday so I can make the day successful, then the week, and so on,” says Michael Leboeuf. Lazy people should learn a lesson from the way ants live. They have no leader, chief or ruler, but they store up their food during summer, getting ready for the winter.

The patient dog, as we know, eats the fattest bone. Therefore, be patient in your goals and don’t always be in haste for result. It doesn't matter how long it takes you to accomplish them. Every true goal must come to pass, wait for it. In fact, the more you accomplish it and the better you get at accomplishing even more. Remember, the hunter’s surest weapon is patience.

The future is not only clothed with imagination, it is also decorated with ornaments of reality. This may not seem strange to you, since the past and present mental pictures of thought obviously unfold into the realities of the future.

Examine yourself. What do you want to be or achieve by next year? In two years time? In three years time? Let the vision take shape in your mind. Vision is the ability to think about or plan the future with great imagination and wisdom. It is a dream of preferred future because dreams of today are the realities of tomorrow.

One exciting thing about children is their way of life. They live a carefree life. Majority of them don’t think beyond tomorrow; they focus on what they can see and enjoy. On the contrary, you are the architect of your future, therefore, it is left for you to determine what it will be. The mental picture of what you aspire to be or achieve must first take shape within your mind before you start to pursue it. Vision is therefore the awareness of your destination before the journey or pursuit actually begins.

A visionary sees opportunity in adversity. This involves seeing one’s future the present. Take a leaf from this great man. Martin Luther king (jr) who in the midst of discrimination, segregation and racial prejudice upheld and worked for a dream which has put a smile on the faces of all blacks in America today.

A person’s thoughts are like water in a deep well, but someone with insight can draw them out. The wise can see where they are going, having an insight of their future aspiration; without this, your life dreams will end like a lamp that goes out in the dark. It is like trying to chew with a loose tooth or walk with a crippled foot.

The book of proverbs tells us that, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” It is obvious that hope lies on ‘future’ and the future depends on ‘vision’; thus, a man who is living without a vision is chasing shadows. He is living an unrealistic life and therefore, will end up completely at sea.

It is not surprising to hear that even an insane person (for example a mad woman) in the course of her duty (madness) works with a vision irrespective of the outcome of her effort. Although, the result might seem useless to you as reasonable person, yet she is always satisfied with accomplishing her mission.

Vision is the foundation of success. It identifies direction, purpose, and gives you the sense to plan ahead. Knowing how to charm a snake is of no use if you let the snake bite first. If your axe is blunt and you don’t sharpen it, you have to work harder to use it. Take ants for instance, they are very tinny, but are one of the cleverest animals on earth that work with vision and plan.

The saying that “the future does not exist for one who does not have a present” implies that your future starts today. Your decisions as regard to your future (vision) determine your destiny. That is why we say that today’s decisions are tomorrow’s realities. John Mason tells us, “Every accomplishment, great or small, starts with a decision.” You must know what you want in life. “When you determined what you want, you have made the most important decision in your life. You have to know what you want in other to attain it, “said Douglas Lurtan”. The decision you take, whether right or wrong, will make or mar your career.