Josh's Weekly Insights - August 20, 2026

“Life is not linear; you have ups and downs. It’s how you deal with the troughs that defines you.”

-Michael Lee-Chin

We all want things to go our way. To catch all the luck and be super successful would be the dream.

But what if bad luck is good luck in disguise? How many times in life does our bad luck either lead us to be in position for our next opportunity or provide the motivation to get out of whatever rut you are stuck in and give maximum effort? If you didn’t go through the negative experience, you wouldn’t be able to achieve what you are capable of.

I have been thinking about this a lot because when I want to help people who are unsure about their purpose in life find purpose, we don’t explore the highlights of their life. Instead, we discuss challenges they have faced and the dark moments they have struggled through. You see, struggles create a lot more clarity of purpose. Our lowest moments are the ones we want to avoid going back to at all costs. The negative moment can be a force for our greatest successes if we grow from it.

When people ask me how I am doing, I often respond with “I’m living the dream.” A former leader of mine didn’t understand me so she asked me to stop saying it. What she didn’t recognize is that I say that phrase not to be cavalier or insincere, but because every day is a blessing and opportunity to make a difference in the world. The reason I believe that is because there have been through some tough days in my past. However, those truly dark and difficult days are a drop in the bucket compared to the ocean of amazing days I have been fortunate enough to live.

Now, I am not a statistics major, but I bet most of you out there have a similar trajectory. You have lived through some difficult and challenging days, but on the whole, you have had way more successful days than darkness.

My encouragement this week is to realize if you are at a peak or a valley. If you are at a peak, enjoy it and appreciate the moment at the top. If you are in a valley, recognize that even if you can’t see the light currently that it is coming. And if you are somewhere in between, well isn’t it a great day to be “living the dream” and trying to make a difference in the world? I bet that if you go through your days with that strategy, you will add value to someone else’s life and may even help them find the way out of their valley while working toward your next peak.

Now get out there and crush your week!