If you are a reader of success and motivation books, you may be tempted to think that success is easy - in fact everybody nowadays are looking for easy solutions - and the easier the formula, the more we want to buy the solution, and the better we feel.  At least we are not wasting our lives — but trying to make a success out of something, or so we tell ourselves.

I used to joke that I have been dieting for 25 years — without success. I have always been weight challenged, but I give myself a comforting thought that I do read diet books, and I ocassionally exercise and starve myself — if only to convince myself that I really am not a hopeless case.  That is probably how many people view also their challenge in business and in other personal endeavors.

But success, true success is not easy - and will demand hard work.  And if your goal is high enough, you would probably meet some challenges, and failure on the way.  What determines whether you are really made of good material is what you do when things fail — do you persist?  Do you stay the course, or maintain your focus with bulldog tenacity.  In short, when things do not go as you optimistically plan, it is really your most challenging moment, and sometimes the enduring success is build up only if you know how to stay the course.