"You can do anything you set your mind to." We have heard this encouraging statement throughout our whole lives. If I work hard I will be successful right? If I have faith in myself I will be successful right?

What stands in the way?

How can it be that we can do anything we set our minds to yet there are times in life when we fail? How can it be that there are times when we give everything we've got yet still remain stuck at the bottom. What holds us back from success?

We must embrace the complexity of life. It takes work and dedication to sort out life's complexities. We must expect complexity in order to prepare our minds for a life of success and accomplishment. We, in addition, must beware of overcorrection. We are all- or- nothing sort of people. We tend to abandon an idea or situation when we fail to complete what we sought out to do. We, on the other hand, must be willing to abandon our old assumptions in order to be teachable and therefore grow as people.

Next, we must allow ourselves the space to make mistakes and learn from them; we must embrace error. Whether we like it or not, we learn more when we get something wrong the first time than we do when we are right from the beginning. I bet that you remember those couple questions you missed on that test more than all the questions you got right. Don't be afraid of being wrong; fear only failing to learn from your mistakes.

Now you're probably thinking, 'wait, that is not one thing'...'what is the single greatest barrier to success?' We must embrace complexity, beware of overcorrection, be teachable, and embrace error but there is one major thing that stands in our way of success.

Faith

What about faith?

What if I told you that you can not do anything you set your mind to but that God can do anything He sets His mind to and that you can be a part of that?

We can have all the strategy in the world but without faith we fail to reach ultimate success. We may get good grades, get that new job, win that award, or earn that paycheck but what about the success of your life. You see, yearning for success in your life and yearning for the success of your life is different. Success in our lives addresses those awards, accomplishments, and salaries but the success of our lives addresses what our life is of not in.

That may sound confusing -- let me explain. We are OF God and yet IN this world. What we are OF is more important; it is where we belong and who we are. Therefore we should aim to have our successes be OF God as well. We must have faith that God is all- powerful and that he can do anything he sets his mind to. Rather than God walking by our sides helping us to become successful in our own lives let's choose to walk alongside Him and help His kingdom become successful.

So next time you find yourself thinking 'I can't even...' Remind yourself that God can.

Be a part of God's success story rather than solely your own.

Yes; work hard, embrace complexity, beware of overcorrection, be teachable, and embrace error but even mores so place your success in the hands of God rather than in yours alone.

I promise you -- you won't regret it.