I know how tough it can be when you're chasing your dreams and you have little to no support.
It's like you're fighting an uphill battle, and sometimes it feels like no one is there for you. No one understands. No one sees what you see.
But let me tell you something straight up: you don't need anyone else to validate your dreams. Yeah, it's nice to have support, but at the end of the day, the only person who truly needs to believe in your dreams is you. You're the one putting in the blood, sweat, and tears. You're the one with the vision burning bright in your soul.
When I started Ironwilled, I was thankful to have the support from my immediate family. But I know many people who didn't even have that. Instead of allowing it to hold them back, they used it as fuel. They turned the negative emotions into determination. While my family was there, I dealt with many I considered close friends, even best friends, not believe in me or support me. All we can do is turn the pain of that into something positive.
So what if no one else gets it? So what if they don't understand why you're sacrificing sleep, social life, maybe even stability? This journey is yours and yours alone. Some of the greatest success stories out there started with just one person believing against all odds. We hear about it all the time. No one became successful without dealing with incredible adversity.
When the support is lacking, you gotta become your own biggest cheerleader, as corny as it might sound. Celebrate your wins, no matter how small. Remind yourself why you started in the first place.
And when the doubts creep in (and trust me, they will), squash them. You've got a dream to chase. You can't let anyone's opinion or lack of support come in the way of that.
And if you're feeling alone on this journey, remember that you're not, as much as it may seem that you are. This community we're apart of is filled with others out there hustling just like you, facing the same challenges, fighting the same battles. Seek them out. Build your tribe. Surround yourself with people who get it, who understand the fire burning inside you because it's burning inside them too. That's what the IW community stands for. No one else understands the struggle like us.
So keep pushing forward. Grind through the pain. Don't let the non-believers get what they want - to see you fail because they know deep inside they could never even take the risk you already took to begin with.
One day, you're gonna look back at this moment and realize it was the struggle that made the victory taste so damn sweet. And when you get there, you'll know that lack of support was just a speed bump on the road to your dreams.
