We all strive for success and have many disappointments along the way. Sometime the disappointment is so strong that we give up and turn away from our dream.

When we first start out on this journey of becoming a success – whatever success means to you – it is tempting to see others who have already achieved what we desire to, and think that it was easy for them. The reality is that very few people become an overnight success or sensation.

I was reminded of this when I met my friend Vinay Parmar (www.vinayparmar.co.uk). We have known each other for years and both helped each other many times, often reminding each other not to give up, that there is light at the end of the dark times.

Vinay had his story featured in the Guardian newspaper a week ago. It was a big write up and told people of a part of his journey. Today, the Mirror newspaper has featured him after picking up on the Guardian article. He also has other papers, national magazines and national TV chasing him for an interview.

It is tempting to look at him from the outside and see it as a lucky break and wish we could have the same. It is in a way making him an overnight success. What people don’t see (except those that have known him) is that the night lasted many years: that there were many moments of real fear, moments of doubt that could have turned into despair and giving up.

Are you experiencing any of these? If so, remember, success is a journey with many obstacles along the way. Obstacles to:

• test your commitment and belief,
• make you a stronger person,
• teach you the skills you need in order to deal with the success when it arrives.

There is a light at the end of the darkness. Sometimes you may not be able to see very far. If you travel by car on a road at night without streetlights, you can only see what is in the beam of the car’s headlights, but you still head toward your journey’s end. So it is with life. You only need to see what’s immediately in front of you, and trust that you will see the next step when you have moved forward a step.

So, remember to keep heading in the direction of your dreams even if you can’t see far ahead, and success will creep up on you in the quietest of hours, when you least expect it.

Go on then, make it through the night.