Are you going through a difficult time?

If so, you're not alone. A lot of people are struggling mentally, emotionally, physically, and financially.

People are getting sick and losing their jobs, and businesses are going under. It's fair to say that the Coronavirus pandemic has negatively impacted the world at large.

However, I know that we will get through this together. We are being called to rise up and step into our power.

If you're going through a difficult time and you need some inspiration, keep reading. I'm here to help you.

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Difficult times are sent to strengthen you.

No matter what you're going through, I promise you that this adversity is merely a season. This too shall pass. Unfortunately, we don't know when. However, what I do know is that all of us have the ability to use challenges as opportunities for growth. Even when adversity strikes, growth is always possible.

Research shows that the positive changes resulting from a traumatic experience are called post-traumatic growth. The question is, “How will you respond to the challenges that you are currently experiencing?” During difficult times like these I encourage you to pull upon your resilient spirit. That voice that tells you to keep going, no matter how helpless you feel or how much you want to give up.

I know what it feels like to experience fear, anxiety, and financial instability. I want to share a vulnerable story with you. This was one of the lowest points in my life. It was the moment at which I hit rock bottom. By sharing this story, my hope is that it will bring you some comfort to know that, no matter how bad things get, there is always a light at the end of the tunnel.

When I was 25 years old I was living in a small apartment in downtown Vancouver. For a few years I had been trying to figure out how to make money online. I made a lot of mistakes along the way. Eventually, I started making enough money to support myself. During this time, I was dependent on Google for all of the traffic to my website. One day, Google decided to change their algorithm. In that moment, I lost 70-80% of my monthly income.

Everything was gone. Scary, right?

The fear that I went through during this time was inexplainable. On the day that this happened I was leaving for a three month trip to South America. As you can imagine, this adverse experience changed all of my travel plans. Let's be honest. It changed my entire life.

I was now in a position where I had to step up and deal with the adversity that I was facing. Within 2-3 years of my rock bottom experience, I went on to become a millionaire. I ended up moving into a penthouse in downtown Vancouver, attracted the woman of my dreams and impacted millions of peoples' lives through my content.

My entire life changed because I was committed to mastering my mindset. No matter what it is that you're going through right now, there is no reason why you can't adopt the same mindset as I did. I encourage you to watch the video above, where I talk through my adverse experience in more detail, and how I was able to transform my pain into possibility.

If you just lost your job or you're broke because of the Coronavirus pandemic, right now is the time to grow and evolve. You are being called to step into your power. On the other side of all of this adversity, you can step into the life that you've always dreamed of. However, it's up to you to create it. I believe in you, but it's time for you to believe in yourself.

If you are going through a difficult time right now, have faith.

I know that everything feels challenging right now. However, I promise that if you take the right action, you will be so much better off for it. Take a few deep breaths and trust that the best is yet to come. I will continue to do my part to inspire and uplift you. We will get through these difficult times together.

Now is the time to decide… will you be a victim of your circumstances or a victor of your life? The choice is yours.

Do you want access to 21 powerful morning rituals that will nourish your mind, body, and spirit? CLICK HERE to get instant access to my FREE Morning Ritual Habits Cheatsheet!

Do you ever feel like giving up? If so, you're not alone.

Maybe you’re at a point in your life where you feel as if choosing a mediocre life would be easier. Going through the pain of disappointment and failure is a tough pill to swallow. I've been there.

Learned helplessness is a powerful psychological belief that holds people back due to repeated failures. Yes, failing sucks, but it's not the end all be all.

I’m here to tell you that giving up is not an option. There is a more empowering choice that you can make.

If you feel like giving up, don't. Just take a deep breath and keep reading!

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Giving up is easy.

When nothing is going your way it's easy to talk yourself into throwing in the towel. It's having the courage to continue when every bone in your body doesn't want to that counts most. A lot of people give up at the first sign of failure. If you haven't realized it already, failure is just a normal part of this wild ride that we call life.

I understand why so many people work hard to avoid it at all costs. It doesn't feel good. I've failed a lot, and I plan on failing a lot more in the future. The way I see it is that if you aren't failing, you aren't trying. It is only through getting knocked down and learning from the lessons that you are able to come back stronger than ever before. 

In her book, Growth Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, Carol Dweck talks about the value of learning by trial and error. She says that if we don't give ourselves permission to take miss-steps as we move towards our goals, we miss out on invaluable opportunities to learn about what works and what doesn't.

I've experienced some very dark times in my life. I'm not going to lie… there were times when I felt like giving up, but I didn't. There was always a voice inside of my head that said, “keep going.” I've learned that the only way out of darkness is to go through it. 

Whatever pain and struggle you've experienced in the past, there is no point dwelling on it today. If you are constantly looking at the rear view mirror you will never move forward in life.

Do you still feel like giving up?

You have two choices in life. You can either become consumed by your failures and be a victim of your circumstances, or you can rise up and keep pushing forward. Nobody said it was going to be easy but nothing of value ever is. Never settle in your life.

More importantly, don't ever give up on yourself. Today is a new opportunity for you to become the person that you want to be. Take a deep breath and keep going. In the words of Michael Jordan, “If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it.”

Are you ready to start climbing?

Do you want 21 powerful morning rituals that will take your life to the next level? CLICK HERE for instant access to my FREE cheatsheet! 

Hard times are a normal part of life. When you get hit with them, you can either fall down or rise up.

Everyone experiences highs and lows. However, some people cope better than others. In studies of people facing trauma, many describe their experience as a catalyst for profound change and transformation, leading to a phenomenon known as ‘post-traumatic growth.'

The most successful people in this world are those that have known defeat. They have been at rock bottom and have been able to make their way out of the depths of their own despair. These people were not born with this skill. Rather, they developed it over time. In doing so, they developed a greater appreciation for life.

Are you ready to learn how you can boost your resilience during hard times and come back stronger than ever before? As the old Japanese proverb states, “Fall down seven times, stand up eight.”

Watch the video below:

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Hard times are the key to a happy and healthy life.

This sounds counterintuitive, doesn't it? Not according to science. Recent research indicates that psychological flexibility is the key to greater happiness and well-being. For example, being open to emotional experiences and the ability to tolerate periods of discomfort can allow us to move towards a richer, more meaningful existence.

Sure, it's easy to feel like giving up when the world continues to throw you challenges. That being said, it's up to you how you are going to respond to life's setbacks. Struggling is a choice.

One of my favorite quotes about strength in hard times is by Joel Osteen, who said – “When you face difficult times, know that challenges aren't sent to destroy you. They're sent to increase and challenge you.”

If you are going through a difficult time in your life right now, I want you to know that you aren't alone. I've been there. We all have. I know what it feels like when your entire world turns upside down and you don't know where to turn.

I won't begin to claim that I understand your pain, because everyone has a different life story. That being said, I can share with you the knowledge that I have learned from my own experiences. I made it through the hard times in my life and so can you. You are still standing and there is a reason for that. Sometimes we all need a friendly reminder of how strong we really are.

Here are 5 ways that you can thrive through the hard times.

1. Accept That Hard Times Will Happen

Why is it so hard to accept that hard times are a part of life? Well, it's usually because our ego tells us that everything should be perfect. If life doesn't go our way, then we assume that there must be something wrong with us.

In her book, Broken Open: How Difficult Times Can Help Us Grow, Elizabeth Lesser says that “When we resist change and loss, we bring more pain onto ourselves. We become hardened, angry, resentful.” 

Accepting something doesn't mean that you have to like it. Rather, it simply means that you have made the choice to stop resisting it. Instead of forcing an outcome, you let go of control and embrace what is.

Randy Pausch is a shining example of this idea. Randy was a leading professor at Carnegie Mellon, a husband, and a father of 3. In 2007, he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. The doctors only gave him a few months to live. Instead of curling in a ball and giving up, he decided to accept his illness and live out his remaining time on earth in a positive and purposeful way.

In the words of Randy himself – “The brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough. They’re there to stop the other people.” 

If you have yet to watch his Last Lecture, I encourage you to do so.

2. Be Proactive 

When hard times hit, it's the proactive people that are able to get through challenges with grace and ease. They don't allow struggles to define who they are because they refuse to be defeated. Nobody said that life would be a walk in the park. However, many of us are ill-prepared from an early age to get through hard times.

I know what rock bottom feels like. It was the best thing that ever happened to me. It was the beginning of me questioning everything that I ever thought was true.  I was faced, head on, with the disempowering belief systems that were keeping me locked away from living my life to the fullest.

Sometimes we need to hit our emotional threshold in order to light a fire under our butts and change our lives for the better. Every struggle in my life has shaped me into the person that I am today. There is always a light at the end of the tunnel, but you've got to find it. Don't you want to become the CEO of your life?

Nobody is going to fix your problems for you. Rather, you need to take action and create the change that you want to see. You can learn about all the strategies in the world for getting through hard times, but none of them will matter unless you actually apply them in your life.

3. Have Faith

Hard times can challenge our faith if we allow them to. Hard times are, in actuality, hard. That being said, how we choose to approach these moments in our lives ends up determining whether or not we merely survive or thrive through life. Having an unshakeable faith in our strength is the answer, and it starts with gratitude.

Numerous studies have proven that when you adopt an attitude of gratitude, you are a happier person. However, when people are trying to get through the hard times, they usually don't reflect upon how grateful they are. Why?

Because challenges don't feel good. I get it. However, if you only rely on your anger and frustration to get you through the bad times, you won't do yourself any good. This mindset will only get you stuck in a negative spiral that will feel impossible to get out of. When we feel sorry for ourselves, we become a victim of our circumstances. This is no way to live.

Have you ever had an experience in life where something didn’t work out, but as a result, something better came from it? When you believe that everything is a blessing in disguise, that's exactly what the Universe gives to you. By adopting this positive perspective on life, it motivates you to view every challenge as an opportunity to grow and become more. Have faith that in yourself and in a better tomorrow. That alone will make the invisible, visible.

Nicole Reed said it best – “Sometimes the bad things that happen in our lives put us directly on the path to the best things that will ever happen to us.”

4. Focus on What You Can Control

If you think that you can control everything in your life, you are setting yourself up for failure. The harsh reality is that you have zero control over many of the things that happen in life. This is where people get into trouble. They think that if they can gain enough control over people or a situation, then they can prevent hard times from happening.

This is far from true.

When you are going through hard times, the natural response is to try and fix whatever it is that feels bad. However, the longer that you linger here, the more helpless that you will feel. We tend to forget that the only thing that we have control over is our inner world. It is your reaction to life that matters most. Two different people could experience the exact same challenge but have a drastically different response to it.

Attitude is everything. Hard times will happen throughout your life, but it is up to you how you will interpret them. You are always in control of your emotions, no matter how difficult the situation may be or feel. When you are able to change your reaction to people and events, don't be surprised if you see a massive shift take place in every area of your life.

5. Develop A Morning Ritual

Ever since I was 17 years old I've committed to a morning ritual. It is the most important part of my entire day because it is the time at which I prime myself for success. By conditioning my mindset, I am prepared to tackle whatever challenges may come my way. You may be wondering, “How is this possible?”

Well, when you take the time to engage in rituals like reciting positive affirmations or doing a meditation practice, you feel more positive and calm. When hard times hit, you are more equipped to handle them because you have done the work to master your emotional state.

Sure, some days I wouldn't mind sleeping in an extra hour, but I have committed to not getting caught up in these moments of pleasure because I know how good I feel when I stick with my routine. It helps to put me into an optimal state of mind. When I'm energized, focused and inspired, I feel unstoppable. It's as simple as that.

I'm not saying that I don't get frustrated when challenges occur. However, every time that I engage in my routine, I am making subtle mental and emotional shifts in how I think about life and hard times. As a result, when the shit hits the fan, I am prepared. Instead of freaking out, I make choices and decisions that serve my highest self.

I hope these words of encouragement for hard times have inspired you to keep moving forward.

We all face hard times. Ultimately, we all become stronger and wiser as a result. It comes down to adopting a positive mindset through every challenge that you face in life. Will it be easy? No. When we face difficulties, it's easy to get sucked into a negativity trap. However, this is the moment at which you need to believe in yourself and search for solutions that will allow you to weather the storm and come out the other side, happier and healthier.

In his final Rocky movie, Sylver Stallone says, “The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s a mean and nasty place and it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. But it ain’t how hard you hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. It’s how much you can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done.”

If you want to learn more about how you can become the master of your life, check out my Life Mastery Accelerator program.

Whatever you are going through, never forget that don't hard times don't last. This too shall pass and the skies will shine again. Until then, pull upon your inner strength and trust that you have everything inside of you in order to get through the hard times. You are stronger than you know. 

Are you ready to learn 21-powerful morning rituals that will take your life to the next level? CLICK HERE to receive instant access to my free cheat sheet!

Do you want to learn why my struggle is my strength? CLICK HERE to read the article that I wrote on Medium!

Are you ready to overcome adversity? Hard times don't have to last forever.

When life knocks you down, what do you do? Do you dust yourself off and keep moving forward, or do you curl up in a ball and give up? Adversity takes many forms and effects each person differently. What matters most is how you choose to react when adversity strikes.

If you want to master your life, you need to learn how to overcome adversity and hard times. How do I know? I've been faced with some big challenges in my life that have tested my strength. By making the choice to overcome adversity, I was able to make room for healthier relationships, financial abundance, greater confidence, and a heightened level of personal fulfillment and joy.

You may not be able to see it now, but adversity is actually a blessing in disguise. It is an opportunity for you to prove to yourself how strong you really are. In the words of Barbara De Angelis, “We don’t develop courage by being happy every day. We develop it by surviving difficult times and challenging adversity.”

Are you ready to learn 9 strategies for how to overcome adversity and hard times?

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When you overcome adversity, you change your life. 

Yes, hard times can be difficult to bare and can leave emotional scars that are difficult to let go of, but we always have a choice. You don't need to possess superhuman strength in order to bounce back from adversity. The secret to learning how to overcome adversity and hard times is resilience.

You may be wondering, “What does it mean to be resilient?” Resilience is the process of thriving through adversity, trauma or stress. It is not something that you are born with. Rather, it is a trait that can be developed over time.

In her book, Supernormal: The Untold Story of Adversity And Resilience, Meg Jay says that, “What I like about the word ‘supernormal' is it hints at how heroic that is — that it takes a lot of courage to go out there and rise above your circumstances or rise above the events that have happened to you.”

It's not the events of life that matter, but rather the meaning that we create from those events. Whether or not you create an empowering or disempowering meaning from hard times in your life is entirely up to you. Two different people can experience the same event but take away an entirely different meaning from their experience.

Resilient people don't focus on how hard times broke them in the first place. Rather, they pay attention to and embrace the actions that they took in order to get through the difficult times. They wake up every day and consciously choose growth and focus on what they can control.

Researchers have discovered five particular areas of growth that often spring from adversity: interpersonal relationships, the identification of new possibilities for one's life, personal strength, spirituality, and an appreciation of life. This phenomenon is referred to as post-traumatic growth. Each of us has the power to channel our pain into productive ways of living.

If you struggle with adversity, today is a new day to reclaim your power. You no longer have to drown in the ocean of despair. Now is the time to be your own anchor and ride the storms of life, with grace and ease. I want to teach you 9 strategies that will help you overcome adversity and hard times once and for all.

1. Believe In Yourself

Don't let anything or anyone make you question your belief in yourself. When adversity hits, it's easy for our self-esteem to take a massive blow, but you need to realize that you are NOT defined by your challenges. Adversity isn't a part of your identity. It's merely an experience.

Trust that you have the ability to take back control of your life when everything feels like it's falling apart. Acknowledge the adversity and hard times that you are experiencing, but know that you will overcome anything that stands in your way of success.

Don't allow your inner critic to rope you into the story that you aren't strong enough to get through tough times. Think back to all of the times in your life when you rose back from the ashes, and use those experiences as reminders of how strong you are.

2. Drop Negative Self-Talk

What you think and say about yourself will create your outcomes in life. When adversity occurs, be aware of how you talk to yourself. If you focus primarily on the negative aspects of a stressful event, then you will be more likely to replay those negative thoughts in your head. Your inner critic will feed off the negativity, further diminishing your self-esteem.

Words are powerful. Resist saying things like, “I can't do this” or “This is tough.” Don't let the story that your inner critic is trying to tell you to dictate your choices. Instead, focus on language that is empowering, positive and that inspires you to take action to change your life.

3. Practice Self-Compassion 

When life knocks you down, showing kindness and compassion towards yourself can go a long way. Studies show that self-compassion is a key piece in peoples' ability to overcome adversity and hard times. Let's pull upon research to support this point of view.

Kristin Neff, Ph.D., a pioneer in self-compassion research, says self-compassion has three main components: (a) Self-kindness – replace harsh self-criticism with kinder, gentler words, (b) common humanity – acknowledge that suffering and personal failure is a universal experience; and (c) mindfulness – observe your negative emotions without focusing on them or suppressing them.

Mistakes will happen in life. Don't be so hard on yourself! If you dwell on the negative, you will never be able to move forward. When you are recovering from setbacks, do you speak to yourself like you would to a good friend that is going through hard times? If not, it's time to show yourself some more self-compassion.

4. Change Your Response

Whenever adversity looms its ugly face and tries to take you down, how do you respond? Your response is what will determine how fast you are able to bounce forward from adversity. It's not what happens to you that matters. Rather, it's what you choose to do with that negative experience.

Resilient-minded people are always growing and seeking new to ways to learn from life's experiences. When we respond to a negative event in a positive way, positive results unfold. At the end of the day, life is all about choices. We can't always choose what happens to us, but we can always choose how we will respond.

Don't react. Rather, be proactive, take ownership of your problems, and eventually, you will find that adversities and hard times are just obstacles that you can and will overcome. Robert Collier said it best – “In every adversity there lies the seed of an equivalent advantage. In every defeat is a lesson showing you how to win the victory next time.”

5. Take Responsibility For Your Life

It’s not easy to take responsibility for your circumstances, especially when they are out of our control. However, by playing the victim and taking a back seat to your life, you are disempowering yourself, leaving you feeling powerless and unable to take control of the situation.

It comes down to accepting that life is a rollercoaster ride of highs and lows. And in order to enjoy the ride, you need to appreciate the duality, without any resistance to the process. Sometimes when we are dealt an unfair hand, we assume that life is working against us.

However, every experience of adversity is designed to help us become better versions of ourselves. When you take responsibility for your life and your circumstances, you are better able to embrace the hard times that life can bring.

6. Ask For Help

When adversity and hard times strike, don't be afraid to ask for help from colleagues, friends or loved ones. Oftentimes when we feel deeply wounded by hard times, it is easy to feel like we are alone, but you aren't. The fear of looking stupid or weak stops many people from reaching out for help. These limiting beliefs are created from years of societal conditioning that teaches us that vulnerability equates to weakness. This is far from true. Asking for help is one of the most accurate measures of strength, so don't be afraid to share your story and express how you feel.

7. Find The Silver Lining 

Every adversity presents an opportunity for growth. Think back to some of the most difficult times in your past. What did you learn about yourself and how did your life change as a result of that experience? Resilient people always look for opportunities in adversities and hard times.

Do resilient people feel pain deeply? Of course, but they don't dwell in self-loathing and victimhood. They recover from the blows of life and find the silver lining that allows them to become more.

It may seem impossible to look for the good when you are in the throws of a negative situation, but a positive attitude is what will allow you to get back into the game of life much faster. In the words of Marilyn Monroe, “Sometimes things fall apart so that better things can fall together.”

8. Create A Game Plan 

If you want to change your life for the better, you need to create a game plan and take positive action. You create your reality. You can either choose to dwell in negativity or rise up and take back your life. Don't wait and hope for a better tomorrow.

Hard times can knock us down if we allow them to. We always have a choice to transform pain into possibility. Don't be limited by adversity and hard times. Know your strength and believe that you are capable of doing anything. If you are willing to persist, despite the odds, and rise above your circumstances there is nothing that will stand in your way of success.

9. Adopt An Attitude Of Gratitude

What if I told you that a simple change in your attitude could help you overcome adversity of any kind? This is where the power of gratitude comes into play. This is a state of mind that helps us see everything in life as a gift. In the face of hard times, gratitude is what helps us cope and gives us hope.

I believe that everything in life happens for a reason, and that negative experiences are designed to serve our higher self in some way. It's our job to find out what that is. I'm so grateful for all of the hard times I've been through. In fact, I celebrate them. Everything that I've gone through in my life has made me the person I am today.

Some of the biggest breakthroughs that I've experienced in my life happened right after I was able to overcome massive adversity. To this day, when something negative happens, I always ask myself, “What's great about this experience and what can I learn from this?” It's your job to find the empowering meanings of every experience that you face, both good and bad.

When you are in the moment, you don't always see the value of gratitude, but I encourage you to always trust that the events that have happened in your life serve a purpose that is bigger than yourself. Sometimes hard times force us to hit rock bottom so that we can reflect on our lives and grow through adversity. You can lose everything, but the one thing that can never be taken away from you is what you've learned and who you have become in the process.

There is always a lesson to be learned from every experience. If you believe that life happens for you, not to you, you will feel empowered to get through anything that tests your strength.

Are you ready to overcome adversity and hard times?

Champions look adversity and hard times in the eye and give them a wink. You are a champion. It's time to show life what you are made of. In the words of William Arthur Ward, “Adversity causes some men to break; others to break records.” Which path will you take?

Are you ready to learn 21 powerful morning rituals that will take your life to the next level? CLICK HERE to receive instant access to my free cheat sheet!!