J. K. Rowling was broke, depressed, on government assistance and a single mom while writing Harry Potter before becoming one of the richest women in the world because she did not give up.

Most of us miss our best opportunities because they come disguised as hard work.  Hard work is a fact of life.  If you want to be successful, you have to work hard.  Thomas Edison was on the money when he remarked, “Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.”

But hard work doesn’t have to be drudgery.  It can be a source of great enjoyment.  If you develop joy in your work, you’ll find that it produces positive energy, which promotes balance.  To develop joy in your work, you must be doing something that you’re good at, that is meaningful to you, and that contributes to your family, your organization, and society.

You persist when you have a passion for what you do.  When you love what you do, you work with gusto.  Generally, this comes about when you align your work with your personal mission.  You may need to do some soul-searching to discover your noble calling and purpose in life.