by Larry Terry

Created on: December 09, 2007

Life is full of struggles, and they come in so many forms. Some people spend a whole life struggling financially and just can't catch a break. Some people are fed with a silver spoon, and have no idea what it is like to struggle.

I feel that, without the experiences associated with struggling, you really don't appreciate the things that you have or can further achieve. Personally, I can tell you a few things about struggling. Being a man that was raised in the South, and not being blessed with the "silver spoon" background, I learned at a very young age that you either work hard or you will struggle.

I also learned that sometimes it seemed that no matter how hard you worked, there was always someone else who appeared to not be working hard at all, yet they were financially & career wise in a better place than I was. I used to think "what do I have to do to reap the rewards that I work so hard to achieve, but success just keeps eluding me".

It wasn't until I had been in the Navy for about 10-years and working for a Chaplain, and he told me "you need to work smarter & not harder". It was then that a "light" came on inside of my head, because prior to that, I was under the belief that if you work hard, you should automatically be rewarded. However, more times than not, that is not the case at all.

Although struggle can be frustrating and sometimes mentally draining, if you apply yourself, there is light at the end of the tunnel.

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