Struggle surfaces success.

There’s a story behind that.

This is your daily message from Chad number 1076 to upgrade your mental game today by telling yourself a better story, because the most important story you hear is the story you tell yourself. Today’s message is dedicated to Coach Mike Tully.

Here’s the upgrade: you think your struggles are trying to sink you, but upgraded thinking sees them as something surfacing success in you.

Here’s the story: in 1974 the U.S. Open Golf Championship was held at Winged Foot Golf Club in New York. The course was particularly challenging that year. Players complained about pin placement, among other things. No player finished under par. In fact, all the players were +10 strokes with the exception of the winner who finished +7. Many of the top players complained to the USGA chairman Sandy Tatum about the brutal conditions. They felt set up for humiliation.

In response, Tatum made a memorable reply, “We’re not trying to embarrass the greatest golfers in the world. We’re trying to identify them.” Superior players surface in difficulty. Strong players know that embracing great obstacles is the path to the greatest reward. It’s in challenging situations that the truth of one’s philosophy, mindset, training, and skill shows itself. My coach, Brian Johnson, uses the phrase, “The hero wants to fight dragons, not side-step lizards.” Who wants to read a story about slaying a little lizard?

Anyone can play an average course. It takes a special golfer to play a special course. Great obstacles create great rewards. Todd Graves started Raising Cane’s chicken finger restaurants. He had trouble raising money for what he calls his chicken finger dream, Graves took matters into his own hands to raise the capital himself. One summer he worked as a boilermaker in an oil refinery in California. He then headed to Alaska for even higher-earning (but dangerous) work in commercial fishing. He hitchhiked and camped on the tundra for about a month before landing a job on a fishing boat This high-risk, high-reward job helped him earn a significant sum.

He combined earnings from the refinery work, Alaska fishing, credit cards, friends/family contributions, and eventually a Small Business Administration (SBA) loan to fund the first location totaling roughly $150,000). He originally considered naming the restaurant “Sockeye’s” as a tribute to his Alaska salmon-fishing experience but named it after his yellow Labrador Retriever, “Raising Cane” a play on “raising Cain,” meaning causing trouble. The difficulty he endured was the price of his dream. This past March, Graves opened his 1000th store on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

The better story to tell yourself is, “I embrace my struggles for the success it surfaces in me.” Tests aren’t meant to fail you. They are meant to prove who you are. It’s said, “The superior person makes the difficulty to be overcome the first interest; success comes only later.” What you are going through is not meant to embarrass you, but identify the greatness you’re capable of. There’s an old proverb, “Smooth seas do not make skillful sailors.” Viktor Frankl said, “What is to give light must endure burning.”

Tell me a story of greatness identified in tough times to fromchadsmith@gmail.com. Send someone a text and ask, “What did you learn about yourself through your most challenging times.” You can get a free copy of my book, The Most Powerful Story in the World, by going to fromchad.gumroad.com. The transcript of this message and hundreds of others are always available at http://www.fromchad.com.