Because you’re here, you must have heard my recent podcast conversation with Jamie Bateman. In the episode, I talked a lot about how I didn’t let going blind at 21-years-old stop me from reaching my goals and I don’t want your unfavorable circumstances to stop you either. Hopefully, after hearing how I bounced back from blindness better off than before and exceeded my wildest expectations, you realize that we don’t have to be victims of our circumstances and you’re capable of more than you’re giving yourself credit for.

Our success in life starts with belief—believing in your ability to navigate your challenges. And belief comes about with small success. Small successes breed confidence. Confidence drives action, and actions lead to outcomes. And when we fuse that with resilient thinking, we’re only limited by our willingness to dream, our unwillingness to give up, and our commitment to see things through.

Remember: the anatomy of resilience includes five pillars:

1. CHOOSE YOUR RESPONSE: life’s like a game of cards—you don’t get to choose your cards, but you alone get to choose how you play them.
2. TELL YOURSELF THE RIGHT STORIES: You’ll become your stories, so choose your stories wisely.
3. VISUALIZE YOUR GREATNESS: Sometimes we have to figure out how to make unfavorable circumstances work for us. I had to figure out how to make blind look good.
4. GET COMFORTABLE WITH DISCOMFORT: life begins outside your comfort zone. If you’re never getting outside your comfort zone, then you’re not growing.
5. TAKE ADVANTAGE OF YOUR DISADVANTAGES: Every perceived disadvantage offers us some advantage if we use it in the right context.

Using these five pillars, get ready to ride the waves of life like a world-class surfer and experience greater ease, lightness, and success. Now, pursue your success with blind ambition!