No One Is Coming to Save You: The Hard Truth About Success and Resilience
Nqobile Mthembu
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No One Is Coming to Save You: The Hard Truth About Success and Resilience
Life will test you. Business will humble you. And if there’s one lesson I’ve learned through every challenge, every failure, and every moment of self-doubt, it’s this: No one is coming to save you.
While I’ve seen successes in some endeavours, I’ve also seen failures, not just my own, but those of people close to me. I’ve seen friends, associates and even family members launch businesses that didn’t survive, despite their best efforts.
What I haven’t seen enough of (especially at close range)—what I am determined to build—is legacy. A foundation of businesses, ventures, investments, and assets that will not only sustain me but outlive me. That’s my obsession. That’s why I cannot afford to fail.
Lately, I’ve been re-inspired by two books that shook me back to my core: The Dip by Seth Godin and Sell or Be Sold by Grant Cardone. These books forced me to confront some hard truths and re-teach myself fundamental lessons I once knew but had allowed hardship to cloud.
The Dip: Knowing When to Push Through
Seth Godin speaks about The Dip—the period where things get incredibly tough before the breakthrough happens. It’s the moment when most people quit, but those who push through reach mastery and success. The dip is unavoidable. Every entrepreneur, every leader, and every dreamer faces it. What separates the winners from everyone else is the ability to endure it.
Many businesses fail not because they weren’t great ideas, but because the people running them gave up too soon. They hit the dip and decided it wasn’t worth the fight. But what if they had held on a little longer? What if they had been strategic about pushing through? These are the questions I now ask myself when the weight of building legacy feels overwhelming.
Sell or Be Sold: The Relentlessness of Success
Grant Cardone’s Sell or Be Sold reinforced another key lesson: everything in life is a sale. Whether you are pitching your business, applying for funding, convincing a client, or even just motivating yourself to get up and keep going—it all comes down to how well you can sell yourself on the belief that success is inevitable.
Cardone speaks about obsession. The idea that success isn’t reserved for those who are merely interested in it but for those who are OBSESSED with achieving it. That’s the fire I’m reigniting in myself. No one succeeds passively. You have to be relentless.
The Constant Battle: Bouncing Back from Adversity
The one truth I’ve come to embrace is that life is a series of ups and downs. There will never be a point where everything is perfectly aligned and adversity stops knocking. The people who build empires, the ones who leave a legacy, are not those who avoid adversity—they are the ones who master the art of bouncing back.
Failure isn’t the opposite of success; it’s part of the process. What matters is how you respond. Do you let hardships break you, or do you allow them to shape you into someone stronger, more resilient, and more strategic?
The Work is Non-Negotiable
If you want a different life, you have to do the work. If you want a thriving business, you have to show up and sell. If you want financial freedom, you have to build, invest, and structure your life accordingly. No one is coming to hand you success. The people who make it are the ones who decide that failure is simply not an option.
I am in a season of re-learning, of sharpening my mind, and of pushing forward with unshakable determination. I refuse to let adversity make me forget what I know. I refuse to sit and wait for things to get easier.
No one is coming to save you. But that’s okay—because you have everything within you to save yourself. The only question is: Will you do the work?
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