Shayne Hammond

My school years were very frustrating. I remember as a student often having the thought “I’m just not up to it. I don’t get this stuff.

What a terrible feeling it is when you know you’ve given your best and your best is simply not good enough. It’s one thing to have not put in the effort you should have and to come up short. You feel disappointed, maybe even guilty. It’s an entirely different thing when you have given something the best you have and yet you’re not even close to succeeding.

It can be crushing to think you haven’t got what it takes.

My family moved a lot during my childhood, so I went to many, many different schools. My education suffered with all the moving, so I was only an average student. Moving school so many times did instil in me toughness. School children can very mean and cruel to the new kid, especially when some of the schools are worst schools in the country. It seemed every time I started a new school I would get tested. You either get used to being picked on-not a pleasant idea-or you learn how to fight.

In my teens it seemed like I was fighting in the streets just about every weekend. Since I was doing so much fighting the obvious answer was that I get good at it.

As an amateur fighter I had reasonable success winning a state title. The trouble began when I turned pro. After a successful start to my professional career full of promise and potential, I began to lose fight after fight. Once again I felt that crushing feeling of “I’m just not good enough.” I thought more effort was the answer. In fact I thought more effort was just about the answer to everything. The problem was the more I strove and strained, mentally and physically, the worse my results. After years of unsuccessful attempts and lots of blood, sweat and tears, I wore myself out.

I put it down to a mystery I couldn’t solve.

I had a similar trend in my business life. I tried one business after another. They all seemed to start off with great potential, but then hard times would hit, and the struggle would begin.

Every step of the way, life seemed tough.

That was the theme of my life for the first 30 years.

My search for why life was so tough and success so elusive led me to reading and studying. I began to put my best efforts into searching the scriptures and self help books.

After years of studying and practicing what I learned, I have achieved some of the most incredible successes, many of which people would struggle to believe could happen.

I believe I know the answers to the mystery of my successes and failures.

I think they’ll be the same answers to the mysteries of your successes and failures.