 About 9 years ago I came across The Prince, the most famous book by Nicola Machiavelli. Since I didn't know as much about the world as I do now, the book made no sense to me. One week ago, however, I decided to pick up the book again and see what I could get from it and suddenly I realized that The Prince isn't a book written for the devils. As much as it is, a book every saint must read. Think about this, everyone in the world needs a weapon because if you don't have one to protect yourself then someone will bring his own to hurt you. To protect yourself from the evil ones, you need to understand how the evil one thinks or else you'll be helpless when they attack you and that's why I love to read books like The Prince. Moreover, more than political or corporate tactics, The Prince contains so many life change and wisdom which every young person must understand and in this video I'll be sharing one of those with you. Open to page 22 of The Prince, then you'll read what Nicola Machiavelli wrote. Everything in nature whose growth is forced lacks strong roots. What does this mean? Well, every true growth, success or achievement in life takes time and whenever anyone tries to ignore that reality they either find themselves with failure or success that doesn't last. Listen to this, growth always comes slowly and most young people don't like that. True growth or success always takes time, a lot of time but most people don't want that because we don't like the idea that it might take a few years before we could become rich. For example, we are busy looking for a shortcut. Because of this, many people fall for punzy schemes, many rush to whatever someone calls gold, many fall victims to internet scammers who want you to believe that if you can give them your $29 you can drive a Ferrari next month. Everything in nature whose growth is forced lacks strong roots. What exactly is your dream? What do you want to achieve with your life? It doesn't matter what that is, if you're looking for a quick road to your destination you'll never get there or if by luck you get there your fortune wouldn't last. According to the National Endowment of Financial Education, about 70% of people who win a large tree or receive a large wing fall go bankrupt within a few years. True growth is usually slow but if you can pay the price and make the sacrifice then you can have sustainable growth. Getting rich for example takes a lot of time, sacrifices and commitment but if you can pay those prices and make those sacrifices you'll not only have financial freedom you'll have financial confidence, confidence that comes from knowing that you built your wealth and you can do it again even if something unexpected happens. Everything in nature whose growth is forced lacks strong roots. About 11 years ago someone became the president of my country. Everyone knew that he didn't become the president because he had political prowess and even his competence could be doubted by many. But he had a godfather who was the king in the politics of my country. So his godfather influenced everyone to make this guy a president. Unfortunately for him there was a fallout between him and his godfather and when he tried to have the second term he was voted out. If this guy had been strong enough to win an election by himself he would have probably known how to win again but because he was helped to get power his fortune got lost when he fell out of the relationship with his godfather. The lesson here is simple. Everything that would last must be built not with luck but with diligence. Stop waiting for luck. Stop looking for a shortcut. Start building a solid foundation that will make your success last. Everything in nature whose growth is forced lacks strong roots. The price and the prize. When I was around age 17 I read something in Brian Trace's book which changed my life forever. The statement goes something like if you want to achieve what you've never achieved before you have to make the sacrifice you've never made before. From that point on in my life I started seeing life as a place where I have to give before I get. I started seeing success as what I would have to wait patiently for while I do my best every day to move closer to it. Every prize has a price. As a young person you have to understand this. You must be willing to pay the price for whatever you want out of life. You must be willing to study and search for knowledge. You must be willing to say no to excessive entertainment so you can have time to pursue your goal. You must be willing to practice and make attempts. You must be willing to endure pains and failures while you focus and wait patiently for what you want to achieve. Everything in nature whose growth is forced lacks strong roots. Some years ago researchers in Illinois allegedly placed a number of young trees in a greenhouse. One group was tied to a stake. A second group was left to grow unstaked. A third group was left unstaked but manually weaved back and forth for several minutes every day. At the end of several months the three groups of trees were measured for growth in height and trunk diameter. The stake trees were the tallest and weakest. Small trunk diameter. The unstaked trees were intermediate in height and trunk diameter and many were not growing straight. The unstaked trees that were waived back and forth each day for the shortest but had the greatest trunk diameter. Thus they were the strongest. The lesson from this experiment is simple. Pains and discomfort do make your life difficult but they also make you stronger and prepare you for the future. While nobody loves pains you'll do well with your life if you accept the reality of life which is there's no gain without pain. There's no crown without a cross. There's no true success without sacrifices. So stop looking for ways to avoid pain the price for what you want out of life. Jim Ron said don't wish it was easier. Wish you were better. Don't wish for less problems. Wish for more skills. Don't wish for less challenges. Wish for more wisdom. If you're looking for easy success you'll fail in life. Stop looking for easy or quick success. Stop preparing yourself for the rough road that leads to lasting success. Everything in nature whose growth is forced lacks strong roots.