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Hi Blog,

Last weekend was my birthday.

I am officially old enough to vote…

… ok, I have been for a while.

But I had an amazing birthday while out camping with the family.

One of my favorite presents (from my wife and the kids) was a super comfortable _Life is Good_ T-shirt with the slogan…

_Stormy Seas Shape Strong Sailors_

I grew up racing sailboats in Cleveland, so this T-shirt meant a lot in that regard.

It also reminds me of what the author’s journey is like.

At first, the idea of writing a book seems hard, maybe out of reach.

Then you realize how easy it is to publish using Amazon.

So you do it.

But the marketing is another “stormy sea” adventure.

Once you figure that out, you then have to deal with trolls (bad reviews) and most likely low royalties.

If it isn’t one thing, it’s another.

Yet, all along, you are learning and becoming more competent.

Life is like this.

The ones who succeed aren’t always the best or most qualified.

The successful are the ones who choose to face stormy seas.

Those stormy sea moments are painful and seem unconquerable at times.

But they make you stronger and more experienced at what you do.

It wasn’t too long ago I was really struggling to make a go of the whole author / online entrepreneur path.

I hit a financial and emotional rough patch (a huge storm).

I was ready to give up, but I decided to push forward just a bit more.

That last push made me a stronger sailor.

In fact, it became my origin story.

And because of it, I am far more confident than I would have been had I not experienced it.

So, the next time you are feeling frustrated, alone, overwhelmed and wondering if you are doing the right thing, just say to yourself:

_Stormy Seas Shape Strong Sailors_

Then say it five times fast.

_Leap. Love. Grow._

RAY BREHM

P.S. This month’s Youru.tv framework is 7 BOOK WRITING HACKS FOR ENTREPRENEURS, a framework for creating a book from other content you already have.

It will go back into the vault in a couple of days. Next month’s course is all about anthologies (so when you join at the end of the month, you get both courses within a week of each other).

https://www.youru.tv [https://raybrehm.krtra.com/c/YDTSHpxKOedT/DGoV]