Somewhere down the line we, as a species, began to think that happiness, success, and the life we dream about, is our right, not an earned privilege. Simply by being born into this world, we should receive what we want; not due to merit, as the result of work, sacrifice, and persistence, but because we, are we. We’re a gift to this world and we should be compensated as such.

The Occupy Movement began with good intentions, but morphed into a beast that held this world view. What began as a call for justice, turned into a war cry for hand-outs, to receive the riches that others worked to earn.

Here’s a fact that only Rocky Balboa could so eloquently convey…

“The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s a very mean and nasty place. And I don’t care how tough you are, it will beat you to your knees and keep you there if you let it. You me or nobody is going to hit as hard as life. But it ain’t about how hard you can hit, it’s about how hard you can get it and keep moving forward; how much you can take and keep moving forward.”

The world is a mean and nasty place. It’s heartless. It doesn’t care if you or I succeed or fail. Sure, there are a lot of good, honest people on this planet who do care, but the world, the majority of the people in it, the system, and our society aren’t as concerned or vested in your life as so many seem to believe they are.

Anything you get in life has to be earned through hard work, sacrifice, and persistence. There’s no such thing as a free ride. It doesn’t exist.

If Success Was Easy, Everyone Would Do It

There’s also a common misconception that being an entrepreneur is an easy road. The age of information has shown us the fruits of labor of the successful, but it rarely shows the tough road taken to that eventual success – a road that few would take if they knew all that it would entail, including the missing guarantee of success that many feel is at the end of every journey.

The road to success is always shared with uncertainty. No one knows that success is at the end of the tunnel, they may have faith – actually, all who are successful have faith – that what they’re doing will turn out alright, but they don’t know.

It’s uncertainty that leads to so many quitting before success is realized. It’s grit that keeps those who are willing to work and persist and evolve, in the game long enough to see their baby, their dream, their creation, fulfilled.

When the majority of “wannabe” entrepreneurs start out on their road to success, they think they’re unique. They believe that them being them is enough to warrant wealth. In this naiveté they become soft. In this dream of an easy American Dream, they fail to develop the toughness that has to come along on an entrepreneurs lonely adventure.

If more would realize that success isn’t easily attained, nor should it be, but earned through long, uncertain, and lonely nights, aided only by an internal toughness and grit that propels a select few to work while others party, drink, and play, many more would be successful in life, not just in business.

The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It is a very mean and nasty place. When they say that only the strong survive in business, and in life, they mean it. This article isn’t meant to deter you from pursuing your dream, it was written to have a completely different effect: to inspire.

Those who read this article see a challenge; a challenge directed at them, and them alone, to fight for the vision, to pursue their dream, and to show themselves, and the world, that they are one of the few who are tough enough, gritty enough, and strong enough to create the life they want, to live the life they want, and to build the vision they have.

Accept the challenge; fight daily, work nightly, and persist. When I said people don’t care whether you succeed or not, I added, at least to their knowledge for a reason…

The world needs you to succeed. It needs your vision to become a reality so you can benefit the rest of humanity. Whether it’s your business that will help others directly, or your story that will inspire others to think big and truly experience all that this beautiful life should offer; your success is needed. So, please, take the challenge, rise up, fight, and persist. The nights will be long, the road will be unforgiving, but you have the grit to push through, to break through, and to succeed.

And while we are at it, here are some Rocky Balboa Picture Quotes to help you weather the storm: