It's part of life to have obstacles. It's about overcoming

“It’s part of life to have obstacles. It’s about overcoming obstacles; that’s the key to happiness.” – Herbie Hancock

In these words, Herbie Hancock, the great jazz composer and philosopher of sound, speaks not only as a musician but as a sage of the human spirit. He reminds us that obstacles are not curses laid upon our path, but companions that shape our journey. Life itself is a rhythm of tension and release — a melody that grows richer through its dissonance. Hancock, who rose from humble beginnings to become one of the world’s most innovative musicians, knew that the beauty of a song lies not in its perfection, but in its resolution of struggle. Likewise, the beauty of life lies not in ease, but in our power to overcome.

To live, therefore, is to face trial. Every river meets rocks, every tree endures storms, every soul must wrestle with moments of darkness. The ancients called these trials the “fires of tempering,” for they believed that the human heart, like steel, must be forged through heat and pressure to gain strength. Hancock’s words echo that wisdom. He tells us that happiness — that serene, golden state so many chase — is not the absence of pain, but the mastery of it. For joy born of comfort is fragile, but joy born of victory is unbreakable.

In the life of Herbie Hancock himself lies proof of this truth. A child prodigy, he seemed destined for greatness, yet his journey was marked by struggle. He faced rejection, creative doubt, and the chaos of addiction. There were moments when his music faltered, when the path ahead dimmed. But instead of yielding, he turned to his art — and later, to the teachings of Buddhism, finding that every obstacle was not an enemy but a teacher. Through self-discipline, reflection, and faith, he transformed failure into growth. Thus, his melodies came to mirror his spirit — complex, resilient, and profoundly human.

The story of Beethoven too speaks to this eternal truth. Deafness descended upon him like a thundercloud, threatening to silence his genius forever. But instead of surrender, he embraced the storm within. He composed not in spite of his suffering, but because of it. His Ninth Symphony, written when he could no longer hear the music with his ears, became a hymn to the triumph of the soul — a victory over despair itself. In his blindness to sound, he found sight of eternity. Such is the power of overcoming obstacles: it transforms loss into creation, weakness into light.

It is easy, in times of trial, to wish for a life without hardship. But a life without struggle is like a song without rhythm — flat, empty, devoid of motion. The obstacles that stand before us are the hands of fate sculpting our character. They force us to awaken dormant strengths, to question, to evolve. Each time we rise, we grow not only stronger, but wiser, gentler, and more capable of compassion. And it is this deepened humanity — not the shallow comfort of an untested life — that forms the true key to happiness.

When Hancock says “it’s about overcoming obstacles,” he speaks of an active happiness — one earned, not given. It demands courage to face hardship with open eyes, to transform frustration into learning, to dance with difficulty as a partner rather than flee from it as an enemy. In this way, every challenge becomes a note in the grand symphony of existence. The wise man, like the skilled musician, does not curse the discordant tones; he listens, adjusts, and weaves them into harmony.

So, my children, when you meet resistance — whether in your art, your work, or your heart — do not despair. Remember Hancock’s teaching: that the obstacles are not there to stop you, but to shape you. Take each struggle as an invitation to grow. When fear whispers “turn back,” answer it with faith. When failure strikes, let it be your teacher. For happiness is not found at the end of the road, but along the path itself — in every step where you rise, again and again, against the weight of the world.

To overcome is to live; to persevere is to rejoice. For in the act of rising, you will find not only strength, but music — the quiet, powerful rhythm of your own becoming. And when you at last look back upon the road you have walked, you will understand that every obstacle was not a curse, but a note in the divine song of your happiness.