At an earlier time in my life I was a very successful amateur sportsman. I experienced times during competition and during training where I couldn't put a foot wrong. Everything flowed so easily that winning was the only possible outcome.

Then there were other time where I would be in pain and would be so fatigued that all I wanted to do was give up.

One thing that I understood well was that I had to push through those hard times in order to experience the great times. So I came up with a little motto to help me do just that. The motto goes like this.

"Pain and fatigue are just a test,

to sort the champions from the rest!"

This motto is true in sport and it is true in life. Most people never become successful because they give up when the going gets tough. The champions on the other hand move up a gear and drive their way through those tough times and come out the other end as winners enjoying the spoils of their victory.

Are there some practical steps you can take that will help you through the gloom and out into the sunshine? Yes there are.

First of all, ask yourself if there is anything that you are doing, or failing to do, that is causing the hardship or perhaps unnecessarily increasing the hardship.

Examine your thoughts, habits, actions, decisions and choices to see if you can improve on any, or all, of them in such a way as to help your situation. If there is anything that you can do improve your situation then do it.

If you analyze your thoughts, habits, actions, decisions and choices and decide that you are on the right track then the difficulties that you are facing could be just a matter of chance.

All life is a matter of probability. What you are doing with success strategies and tactics is seeking to move the probabilities into your favor. Success strategies really do work and they really do increase your likelihood of enjoying a successful life, but that doesn't mean that things can't go wrong for you from time to time.

Most people, no matter how successful, will suffer hardships and setbacks from time to time in their life. If you are confident that you are on the right track then the best strategy is to increase the amount of goal directed action that you are taking.

A heavy load needs a strong back. So when your burdens start to feel heavy it is up to you to increase your own strength. Increase your strength of action. Increase your strength of will. Increase the strength and quality of your knowledge and delegation and determination.

It is that fighting spirit that will strengthen your character.

Edison, the great inventor, was famous for his persistence, regardless of the setbacks. He once said that most people who give up have no idea just how close they were to success.

If you intelligently apply massive, goal directed action, assess the result, decide on the next action needed, and then massively apply that action you will win. You will get to enjoy the fruits of your labor. But by far the greatest win you will have is the strength of character that you develop while lesser persons are giving up.