Staying positive and goal-oriented is very easy to do when the going is good. The true winners in life are the people who can persist when times are tough and it seems the whole world seems to be totally against them. The real question is, “How do you keep moving forward when the odds seem to be stacked up against you?”

The first thing to realize when you are in this kind of situation is that EVERY person who has ever accomplished something of significance, was faced with a similar situation. This is a guarantee. The wealthy business person was broke and inexperienced at some point. The Olympic gold medal winner was slow and clumsy in the beginning. The stage performer was in a low-budget show forgetting her lines.

Some people must face greater hardships than others but no one is immune to it. And this is really the key to this lesson.

3 Tips to Turn the Odds in Your Favor

If you are in a situation right now where it seems like quitting or defeat are your only options, here are some ideas you can use to drive yourself forward and keep going.

Go to school on your leaders. No matter what you are trying to achieve, there is someone in the world who has very likely done it before. Success leaves clues so your job is to become the investigator. Find out what made these other people successful. More importantly, learn about their hardships and how they triumphed when the odds were stacked against them. Then…realize that you have the exact same abilities as that other person providing you are willing to do the things that person did.

Put it in perspective. A great example is someone starting out in business for themselves. Most businesses experience a pretty rocky road in their first few years. This also happens to be the period of time when many business owners give up. But when you put it in perspective, the hardships you are facing at the start of your venture likely pail in comparison to people with real challenges. There are people struggling with addiction, physical handicap, family breakup and so on. There are people in these situations that maintain a positive outlook and still make the best of their life. If they can do it with severe problems, you can do it with relatively minor problems.

Ask, ask, ask. There is the old saying: “Ask and it shall be given.” The saying contains a powerful truth. People who have become good at asking for what they want and need in life, tend to get more help from others. When the odds are stacked against you, regardless of what you are trying to accomplish, there are people out there who will be willing to help if you ask them. If you are in need of help with money, resources, support, exposure or anything else, ASK. Ask a lot of people. Ask with conviction. Ask with passion. If you ask enough people…you WILL find the support.

The key thing to remember in this whole discussion is that you are an achiever. If at any point in your life, the odds are stacked against you and success seems like a distant dream, you are doing something RIGHT. This is a sign of your courage, determination and persistence. And in that sense, you are already successful.

Your partner in success,