Hard work pays off.

     That seems like a real given, right? But it's not. How many times do people get in ruts where they're just working hard and working hard and working hard and they're not getting any of the benefits they should— and lots of times when that happens they get jaded or exhausted or defeated. The key thing to remember is— we work hard for things to pay off. Don't ever lose sight of that. Even when things aren't working out the way you planned.
     ESPECIALLY when things aren't working out the way you planned. Yeah, we're not working so hard because we're some kind of pack mule, some kind of beast of burden, being lashed, or lashing ourselves until we drop in the dirt one day. The opposite is the truth— we work hard to win!
     Yeah, work hard. Work brutally hard. Check this out:

I run until I hurt and then I run until I'm in pain and I keep running until I'm in agony. And when I'm in agony, that's when I break records.

     But work knowing that your hard work is going to pay off. And if you're working hard and feeling like it's never going to work out and feeling really low about it, just know that as low as you have gone is going to be as high as you will go when your hard work pays off. And it will pay off.
    Hard work pays off. Do you know of any time it hasn't? Nope. It ALWAYS does. Don't let yourself be sidetracked from embracing this truth.