I’ve been asked at times, what do you know now that you wished you knew when you were beginning your career?

My short answer:

“This too shall pass.”

Here’s what I mean by that: when you are young, and you suffer setbacks, the setbacks can seem really big and daunting. You can imagine the setback will be fatal. You find it difficult to believe there will be better days again. Getting discouraged is easy. You might abandon a good course. You might have the setback become the thing that defines you. I’ve learned that isn’t the case.

The path to success isn’t a straight line up for most people. There are almost always a few zigs and zags.

A friend of mine and I were talking about the valleys we experience in life between the hilltop or mountaintop experiences. The valleys are times in the low country where lessons can be learned, and character can be formed.

Valleys can be lush and beautiful. They can be a place to rest. Recover. Regroup. The valleys can refresh you, so you begin the climb and go again.

So, my experience has been to learn that setbacks aren’t permanent. They want to persist. And they aren’t just directed at me.

If I keep my head up. Keep a good team around me. Don’t stop too long to lick my wounds, that better days will be ahead.