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I bet you know someone who’s got an enviable Rolodex of successful entrepreneurs, investors, journalists and more. Makes you wonder, How do they do it? — right?

Did you start your business so you could scrape by and live hand-to-mouth for the rest of your life? Of course not. You want to thrive, not survive.

Validation… isn’t it something we all strive for? In our personal life, we seek validation from those we love. We need a pick-me-up. We need a helping hand and a few kind words. We often — for whatever reason, I do not know — seek validation from others (friends and strangers alike). We try to fit, stand out, and be unique, all in the name of validation.

“Hiring people is like making friends. Pick good ones, and they’ll enrich your life. Make bad choices, and they’ll bring you down,” says Jason Fried, the founder of Basecamp.

James Altucher says, ‘honesty is the fastest way to prevent a mistake from turning into a failure.’ Well, I’ll be honest with you, mistakes hurt.

I have never been the best at anything. I would spend a lot time growing up, imagining myself as someone I wasn’t. I would picture the talk shows and the interviews, and the inspiring stories my fictional self would share.

Each day I wake up terrified. This state doesn’t improve much throughout the day, because this world we live in is a scary place. I figure we’re all terrified, one way or another. I suppose it’s in our DNA. It’s what kept us alive for generations, safe from lions and other animals ready to tear us apart.

Failure brings one of two outcomes each time: 1) True failure (aka: you give up), or 2) A Tipping Point (aka: you rise from the ashes).

Success comes in many forms, but the journey to get there is rarely a simple one. There are ups and downs, twists and turns, and often an ongoing struggle of trial and error before you find success — whether it be personal or professional.

I decided to leave my somewhat secure job a few years ago to become an author and entrepreneur because I was fed up. I was fed up of playing by someone else’s rules. I was fed up having to say yes, when all I wanted to say was no. I was fed up of clocking in and clocking out, and repeating this tedious cycle. I was just… fed up.

James Dyson failed 5,126 times before he found a version of his Dual Cyclone vacuum cleaner that worked. To many, this would make him a loser, yet today he is worth $4.2 billion.