We all want to succeed but success requires concentrated effort. We define our goal and then focus on it. First, let’s learn how to avoid the pitfalls along your road to success. Second, here’s how to maximize your ability to be a top achiever in your chosen endeavor.

To paraphrase the tire manufacturers, "where the rubber meets the road" is the nit and grit of life. This world is no picnic. The test of our "spiritual tires" is how well we hold up under the challenging conditions of real life. Today's lesson shows how to avoid negative emotions and to maintain a healthy emotional equilibrium.
 

Without emuna, life's tribulations look like a lion about to devour us. No wonder so many people succumb to fear and anxiety.
With emuna, life's tribulations still look like a lion. Yet, the lion is only a costume that our loving Father in Heaven is dressed up in. That changes our outlook completely, as we're about to learn.

There's one major difference between people who succeed and people who don't. The ones who succeed are totally focused on their goal. The ones who don't are not. Any marksman knows that you can't hit a target if it's out of focus. Today, we're going to learn what it means to focus on our goal and how to focus.

Our sages tell of a wise old man who sits at a crossroads and warns travelers, "There's a road whose beginning is rocky and its end is smooth, and there's a second road whose beginning is smooth and the end is rocky." The wise man is relating a fact of life that applies both to material and spiritual endeavors, as we learn in the following thought-provoking parable.

Packed up for their very first outing in their brand new SUV, the family left city limits. As they entered the highway, a speeding truck swerved into their lane and collided with them. Fortunately, the cars airbags functioned perfectly and the whole family wore seat and shoulder belts. The car was a total loss, but the family emerged unscathed. That is, all except their 7-year-old son. He was unconscious with a concussion, and maybe even a fractured skull.
What could possibly be good about the above situation? The family saved up years for the new car. They had not yet clocked two hundred miles on it. Yet now, it's a total wreck. What's more, their little boy is now in the hospital and the situation is critical...

Each of us has a designated path in life that takes us to our destination. What's that? It's the successful accomplishment of our goal and mission in life. We're happiest - and safest - when we stick to our own track. Today's lesson will help you avoid tons of grief, negative emotions and wasted time and energy.

Dara had all the gifts that a girl could dream for. She was attractive, personable, athletic, intelligent and very popular. But, nothing in this world is perfect. Dara became so very involved in herself that she developed a lust for prestige. It wasn't enough to be nice to Dara. She expected everyone to drool over her...
This is a real-life lesson about how hate, jealousy and the lust for prestige are like a fire that destroys life's best blessings.

A hiker, climber or biker will prepare a backpack with all the tools he or she needs to complete their task and attain their goal. Metaphorically, the backpack is each one of us. The tools are the unique talents, skills and aptitudes that the Creator gives each one of us in order to successfully perform our individual mission on earth. Once we learn this important lesson, we're never again jealous of anyone.

Today's lesson teaches us something that most people never learned - how to be yourself! We learn how to live your own life and not according to anyone else's expectations. We don't have to play other people's games by their rules. Then, we're free to play our own game by our rules, what we know and believe is right. While expressing our true individuality, there's no need to compete with others. Indeed, we to compete with ourselves strive higher. That way, we cultivate our good points to the max and fulfill our personal potential in a way we never dreamed of. Let's learn how:  

Today on "Emuna Hour", we learn how to be at peace with ourselves. Even more important, we learn how to be our own therapist. It's easier than you think and it's ever so gratifying.

Here is an amazingly simple spiritual ploy to help you succeed in whatever you do.