Fear and admission of failure are the ties which cause us to be "bound in shallows, and in miseries." We can break these ties and throw them off. Nay, we can turn them to advantage and make them serve as a tow-line with which to pull ourselves ashore if we observe and profit by the lessons they teach....... Napoleon Hill, The Law of Success.

I don't know what you may be passing through right now, or what you are about giving up on, but I am here to encourage you to stay strong. Don't throw in the towel yet. It is not yet over until it is over. It can not be called failure if you are still holding on.

First things first, I want to make something very clear to you; every great success story has at least, one failed attempt behind it, but we only hear how they succeeded. I think it's high time people started telling us about their struggles before they achieved great heights in life.

Secondly, I want you to understand that misfortunes or temporary defeat are not peculiar to you alone. Everyone comes to a point in their lives when they suffer one or more misfortune. Life is designed that way. We don't always get it as we expected.

My burning desire to keep encouraging those going through one form of misfortune or the other comes from my own past experiences. Life has not been a bed of roses for me. I drank a lot from the cup of pains, miseries and sorrows. I have a memory I don't like remembering. The one that makes me cry each time I write, talk or remember it. But I can call it my past today because I did not give up.

Each time I remember what I have passed through in life, my heart melts for humanity because I know there are a lot more others passing through similar situation or something even worse. The world is not a fair place, very few care about their fellow humans. It is your duty to overcome whatever challenge is before you. Do not bow your head in defeat. They might have called you negative names, humiliated you, yet stay strong. I was called names, I had no shoulder to lean on. My last hope was suicide (at least that was the only thing my heart could remember then). I thought of it countless times. Today, when I look back, I thank God I never took that decision of ending my life. If you do not give up, there will be a time when you will also look back and you be glad you did not accept defeat.

I do not know what could be causing you so much sorrow now, it could be relationship failure, financial misfortunes, sicknesses, loss of a loved one or career problems, I want you to strengthen yourself and look at the future with hope. Yes, there is hope for everyone yet alive.

No one has the right to brand you as a failure except yourself. If in a moment of despair, you should feel inclined to brand yourself as a failure, Just remember those words of the wealthy philosopher, Croesus, who was an advisor to Cyrus, King of Persian:

"I am reminded, O King, and take this lesson to heart, that there is a wheel on which the affairs of men revolve, and its mechanism is such that prevents any man from being always fortunate"

Extracted from The Law of Success by Napoleon Hill.

Yes, it will not be easy to keep hope alive, it was not easy for anyone either. Some did not overcome it, they quit trying and ended up in mediocrity, some committed suicide. Life comes in different phases, when it's time to merry, enjoy it, when misfortune strikes, don't give up. Understand that it will also pass.

When you miss an opportunity, don't think it is forever over. If only past failures and misfortunes have not beclouded our minds, then we would always see new and better opportunities crossing our path every now and then.

Questions some of us ask are; for how long will I keep holding on? How long do I keep trying? How long should I wait before I give up?

Yes, this is the most difficult part. When I was going through hard times and my friend was trying to encourage me with her story, I told her that it didn't take too long before she was able to pull through, but why does mine seem like an unending challenge? Yet today, I have overcome. You too can. Just keep pushing until your desired result is achieved. It does not matter how long you have to wait. What matters is how it ends.

I'll end this with this encouraging words from one of my most favourite authors. Napoleon Hill

Who of us has not seen "off" days, when everything seemed to go wrong? These are the days when we see only the flat side of the great wheel of life.

Let us remember that the wheel is always turning. If it brings us sorrow today, it will bring us joy tomorrow. Life is a circle of varying events.....fortunes and misfortunes.

We can not stop this wheel of fate from turning, but we can modify the misfortune it brings us by remembering that good fortune will follow, Just as surely as night follows day if we but keep faith with ourselves and earnestly do our best.

I recommend you read more from The Law of Success, Lesson Thirteen, Failure... Written by Napoleon Hill.

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Reference:

The Law of Success by Napoleon Hill

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