The School of Greatness - 381 Hope Matters

Episode Date: September 16, 2016

"When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you, till it seems as though you could not hang on a minute longer, never give up then, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn." -- Harriet Beecher Stowe If you enjoyed this episode, check out show notes and more at http://lewishowes.com/381

5-Minute Friday, episode number 381, Hope Matters. Thomas Edison said, many of life's failures are people who do not realize how close they were to success when they gave up. What would you try if you knew you were eventually going to succeed at it someday? What would you try? Not that it would be easy or just happen without any effort or execution, but what would you try? Something that you would work, you would try, you might fail, you might get messy, you would try some more, fail, and then eventually succeed. See, the truth is you're already there. You're already at the point of I'm just about to succeed. See, the truth is you're already there. You're already at the point of I'm just about to

succeed. You're just about to reach that goal that you have in mind. Even if you're in the dark, even if you're at rock bottom right now, even if you're stumbling around clueless in this moment, there's one thing that makes all the difference between the failures that hold people back and the failures that push people forward. And that is hope. Anne Lamott said that hope begins in the dark. The stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come. You know, I remember a moment where it was extremely dark for me. When I was a kid

in elementary school, my parents were going through a lot of stress. I felt constantly bullied growing up. I felt like no one understood me. I was constantly struggling in school. I had tutors to help me out. I't read and write it was challenging and all the kids on the playground made fun of me and for me as a kid that's all I wanted to do was to be accepted and I remember the moments that really hurt me the moments where I felt like there was no point the moments where I felt like why am I even here the moments where I felt like, would anyone miss me if I was gone? I remember feeling many times that my life didn't matter, that it can't get any darker inside of my own body and inside of my own mind.

And I remember feeling very dark. And if I didn't reach out to support, if I didn't believe in myself just a little bit, then my life could have completely gone in a different direction. If I didn't seek coaches and mentors and reach out to family members and find really good friends that did like me and that did enjoy my time and company, then it may have been a completely different path. But Harriet Beecher Stowe said, when you get into a tight place and everything goes against you till it seems as though you could not hang on a minute longer, never give up then. For that is

just the place and time that the tide will turn. If you're feeling like there is some darkness in your life right now, there is a lot of uncertainty. You're not picking up any steam or momentum. I'm telling you, hold on another minute longer because this may be that time when the tide will turn. Reach out for support. Believe that a good day is coming. Believe that you have everything you need to get through this moment, to get through this dark time.

Believe that you're in the right place at the right time. And this is the perfect part of your journey that will be a powerful and inspiring story in the future. Hope matters. And I personally hope that this message reaches you at the right time. It inspires you to lift your chin up a little bit today to pat yourself on the back today to give yourself a big old bear hug today. Do something right now to get out of that dark place. Go be in service to someone else. Go call a friend and tell them how much they mean to you.

Give someone a compliment that you don't know. Do something to get beyond your fears, beyond your insecurities, beyond your resistance, and start believing in yourself. This is 5-Minute Friday, episode number 381. We do this every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Thank you all so very much for being here. If you found this powerful in any way, please share it with your friends. LewisHowes.com slash 381. Leave us a review over on iTunes and let me know what you guys thought. This podcast has grown because of you. It is inspired by you and I do this all for you. If there's anything I can do to support you, please let me know.

Send me a tweet, at Lewis Howes. Message me on Facebook or Instagram and let me know what I can do to best support and serve you. If you have guests you would like me to interview, if you have topics you would like me to cover, let me know.

This is all about giving you the best and most inspiring information to help you unlock your inner greatness. I love you very much and you know what time it is. It's time to go out there and do something great. Outro Music