What did suffering teach you that success never could?

With all the focus on success it’s easy to overlook the valuable lessons we can learn from the more difficult parts of our journey. Below, you’ll find some very interesting insights from some of the most fascinating members of the community.

Karen Larkin

Suffering has a way of stripping away everything we think defines us — the titles, the plans, the confidence, even the will to keep moving. When my mother passed away, my world shattered in slow motion. The woman who had been my anchor, my encourager, and my safe place was suddenly gone. And with her went my sense of direction. Read more>>

Darrin Cook

That is a powerful question. Success is a wonderful thing, but it often teaches you how to build higher. Suffering teaches you how to build stronger, from the foundation up. I have had two great teachers in my life: Hurricane Katrina and bankruptcy. Katrina taught me that everything you think is stable can be washed away in an instant. Read more>>

Mark Mundy

If you are doing music for money, fame or adulation, there will be a constant possibility of disappointment and failure. The content you produce will at its core just be a product. Conversely, if you create music or art that really means something to you, and is truly from your heart, there’s no way you can fail. The result is the success. Read more>>

Sharif King

Suffering mold me. It was in my suffering that i developed the most character and was able to recognize the areas that i was weak in that made me a stronger person in various areas. Suffering taught me how to rebuild, recreate, restructure and recommit to the goal which made me more polished. Read more>>

Dr Denocka Wardrick

How to love myself when no one else will and how to pivot when necessary Suffering is where you learn how to fight and you perfect your technique success is only the battlefield and which the fight is taking place but you got to learn how to squabble first Read more>>

Jenecia Brown

Suffering has illuminated my inner strength and deepened my faith. Last year, my children and I faced the harsh reality of living in my car, sometimes unable to secure a room. Without air conditioning and limited to nighttime or early morning deliveries, in addition to doing hair, I worked tirelessly. There was even a week where sleep was a luxury we couldn’t afford. Read more>>

Colin Carew

Suffering taught me what the glitter of success never could—that beneath the concrete and sirens of New York, Atlanta the same earth that cradles the trees in Central Park and Ormewood Park also holds me when I fall. Read more>>

ThreePartFriends

This is going to sound cliche but suffering has taught us resilience, endurance, compassion, empathy, humility, etc. Success builds confidence but suffering builds character. Read more>>

Mia Rio

My valleys teach me not only to appreciate the mountains more but they make me manage sucess in a healthier and more fruitful way. They’ll bring you new perspectives if you allow yourself to grow from them instead of becoming bitter from them. Like they say, ‘What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger’. Read more>>