Obstacles are necessary for success because in selling, as in

“Obstacles are necessary for success because in selling, as in all careers of importance, victory comes only after many struggles and countless defeats.” Thus spoke Og Mandino, sage of perseverance and prophet of hope, whose own life bore the marks of despair before rising to triumph. His words cut like the chisel against stone, shaping truth that endures: that success is not born in ease, but in the furnace of trial. The road to victory is not paved with roses but strewn with obstacles, and it is by stumbling, rising, and pressing on that the soul is tempered and the crown is won.

The ancients would have said: “The oak becomes mighty only when the storms have beaten upon it.” So too does the spirit of man grow only through struggles. Og Mandino himself, once broken and adrift, nearly ended his life in despair. Yet in that darkness he found resolve, and by facing the countless defeats that life hurled against him, he rose to become one of the greatest voices in the art of encouragement. His creed was forged in hardship; his wisdom was born not in ease but in fire.

Consider the tale of Abraham Lincoln, who before becoming president of a divided nation, endured repeated failures. He lost elections, faced business ruin, and bore unspeakable grief. Yet each defeat became a teacher, shaping his character and deepening his resolve. When the storm of civil war engulfed America, it was precisely because he had endured so many obstacles that he was strong enough to lead. His victory, like Mandino’s words, proves that greatness is carved through endurance.

Or recall the journeys of inventors like Thomas Edison, who after thousands of failed experiments declared he had not failed, but had found thousands of ways that would not work. His countless struggles were the foundation stones of his eventual triumph, lighting the world with electricity. Without those defeats, the lightbulb—and the modern world as we know it—would never have been born.

The meaning of Mandino’s words is thus: obstacles are not curses but gifts, not barriers but the sharpening stones of destiny. To avoid them is to remain weak; to embrace them is to become strong. Every defeat is not the end, but a lesson, a whisper from life urging you to rise again. Those who flee from obstacles flee from greatness; those who embrace them carve their names into history.

The lesson is clear: do not shrink from hardship. When defeat comes, do not curse it but study it; when obstacles rise, do not despair but climb. Understand that every career of true importance, every life of true weight, must be tested and tried before it can bear its crown. Victory is not a gift from fortune but the reward of endurance.

Practical counsel follows: in your work, your craft, your daily life, expect obstacles and prepare your heart to face them. Keep record of your defeats, not as scars of shame but as stones of remembrance that show how far you have climbed. When setbacks come, breathe deeply, rise again, and press forward. Each trial is a teacher, each failure a forge. In time, the countless defeats will gather into the foundation of your success.

So remember this, O seekers of greatness: as Og Mandino declared, victory comes only after many struggles and countless defeats. Do not pray for an easy path, for none exists. Pray instead for the strength to endure, for in enduring you become more than victorious—you become transformed. Let your obstacles be your teachers, your defeats your fuel, and your triumph will not only be won but earned with glory.