This entry was published on my blog almost a decade ago but it’s as true today as it was then. Never give up on your dream.

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For a long time, I thought my dream of being a writer was pointless. Only one thing was standing in my way: I didn’t believe in myself. I didn’t think I would actually be able to write a book that anyone would want to read, so I didn’t bother to try.

Shortly after college, though, I met a group of highly determined people and I realized the only difference between us was that they believed they could do whatever they set their minds to while I believed the exact opposite. Over the course of time, their optimism and persistence changed my outlook. This led me to understand a few insights that have molded who I am today:

• Your mindset is contagious. If you don’t believe in yourself, you are guaranteeing no one else will either. Successful people don’t surround themselves with pessimists and cynics, they surround themselves with positive thinkers and optimists. Do not give your time to anyone who would belittle your goals or make a joke out of your aspirations because doing so infects your outlook.

• People who believe in themselves don’t keep going only because they are determined—when you truly believe in yourself, you know it’s a matter of time until you achieve your goal.  Maybe it will take ten years. Maybe it will take twenty. But it will happen eventually.

• Dreams aren’t easy to achieve, but when you struggle toward something that truly makes you happy, the necessary hard work doesn’t feel like work at all. I look forward to the time I get to sit in front of my computer and edit one of my awful first drafts. If achieving your dream was easy and didn’t require daily pain, it wouldn’t be worthy of being called a dream in the first place.