Guess what. Sh*t happens! When we’re doing our darnedest to build our careers and build our lives into something we’ve always wanted and can truly be proud of, it’s inevitable that we come across a roadblock every now and again. Rejection, your long-standing emotional baggage, outside opinions. Whatever it is, you are sure to come into contact with something that could end up causing a setback.

Turns out, these things don’t actually have to thwart (or worse, halt) your progress! In fact, if you embrace these challenges as good things, holding strong to your success mind-set, you’ll be able to become a girl or boy boss who is even stronger than if you had encountered smooth sailing the whole way through.

F*ck what society thinks. Not only about you but also about how to define success. This extends to your friends and family as well. Though many people may think of success in relation to climbing the corporate ladder or making tons of money, success is truly a highly individual concept. Ignore what everyone else is saying (or thinking) and listen to yourself. What does success mean to you? You are the one living your life, so you should be the one to decided how and if you will be successful. People will offer you advice as you go along, some good and some bad, and take it all graciously but often with a grain of salt. Use what is valuable to you and ignore the rest. If you believe in what you’re doing and where you are going, you are sure to reach your goals.

Know thyself. This may be easier said than done, but cultivating a strong sense of self-awareness is a very useful tool for achieving success, however you define it. When you take the time to really know yourself, both strengths and weaknesses, you are able to rise above your emotional baggage and take advantage of your best assets. Recognise and address all of the past issues you’ve had with work – whether that was a work-life balance that wasn’t ideal or a negative experience working in teams – and train your brain to adapt and think positively. When you know what triggers you, you can also help to avoid it in future.

Embrace rejection. Wait what?! Weren’t we supposed to be giving you advice on how to succeed and overcome barriers? Well, in actuality, every failure is really just a learning opportunity. So get rid of that shame you associate with failure or rejection. Even if it’s something as seemingly devastating as being fired, you should look at things in a positive way. Look at being let go as a gift, as this means the universe is sending you a message that this was not the right job for you after all. Without this “rejection,” you may have stayed at the position too long and missed another golden opportunity.

So what it really comes down to is the biggest barrier for people: daring, DOING. Daring to let go of the good and aim for the great. You have to turn off your mind, follow your gut and just GO. You’ve got to stop thinking and thinking and thinking and just do. That way you will leave good behind and reach your true greatness, moving out of the “I can’t” and “But what if” mind-sets and into the “I did it, and I am proud” one.