Life does not go perfectly. Not only this but things will go wrong, and obstacles will jump in front of us at the most inappropriate time. If you have ever been late getting started driving to an appointment, you know what I mean.

The message is simple: Do not lose sight of what you really want to achieve. Keep focusing on it. Most long term goals require many short steps as we move toward them. Some steps will be missteps. Situations and people will get in our way. It is just a part of life.

When one step does not work out, we must move sideways and try another way. When we find walls in our way, we need to find ways under them, over them, around them or yes, using a bigger battering ram to go through them. We need to be persistent. The war is our achievement of our overall objective. The battle is the step we are taking as we work toward achieving it. 

Remember: “If, first, you don’t succeed, quit” is not a means of reaching our goals. Do what is necessary to win the war. Losing a few battles along the way is normal. Again, it is just a part of life.