For over 25 years, Earl G. Graves was the successful CEO and publisher of Black Enterprise and a real-life African American mentor. His advice for success in the face of obstacles was to hang in there. Tenacity pays off.

“The very greatest things—great thoughts, discoveries, inventions—have usually been nurtured in hardship, often pondered over in sorrow, and at length established with difficulty,” said Scottish writer Samuel Smiles. His 1859 book, Self-Help, celebrated the accomplishments of successful men and became a Victorian best-seller.

“Obstacles don’t have to stop you,” said basketball legend Michael Jordan. “If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.”

Whether it’s money, fear, or some other obstacle, don’t underestimate your capacity for accomplishment. You can triumph in the face of overwhelming odds.

As heroic Helen Keller put it, “The marvelous richness of human experience would lose something of rewarding joy if there were no limitations to overcome. The hilltop hour would not be half so wonderful if there were no dark valleys to traverse.”