Tough Times Never Last But Tough People Do
- Book review -

Nongmaithem Rakesh Singh *

Dale Carnegie, writer of "How to Win Friends and Influence People" had quoted that " Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to no hope at all". This is a forthright statement about resilient people.

Do you want to become a person who doesn't give up when the situation seems impossible to win? If the answer is yes, you can strengthen up yourself internally by reading a book titled "Tough Times never last but tough people do". It is written by Robert H. Schuller.

Robert H. Schuller was an American Television Evangelist, pastor, motivational speaker and author. He was renowned for the weekly television programmes "Hour of Power". He has authored many other inspirational books like
o Way to the Good Life (1963)
o Your Future is Your Friend (1964),
o Move Ahead With Possibility Thinking (1967)
o Self-Love (1975)
o You Can Be the Person You Want to Be (1976)
o Toughminded Faith for Tenderhearted People (1979),
o Self-Esteem: The New Reformation (1982)
o The Power of Being Debt Free (1985);
o Living Positively One Day at a Time (1986)
o Success Is Never Ending, Failure Is Never Final (1990)
o Life's Not Fair, But God Is Good (1991)
o Possibility Thinking (1993)
o Prayer: My Soul's Adventure with God (1995),
o My Journey: From an Iowa Farm to a Cathedral of Dreams (2001)
o Hours of Power (2004)
o Don't Throw Away Tomorrow (2005)

The book "Tough Times Never last, but Tough people do!" is an inspirational and motivational book. It was published in the year 1983. Although the book was printed in the early 1980s, still it is one of the most relevant books in this time of pandemic and economic turmoil because of closure of economic activity.

The reason for the relevancy of the book is it toughened up ourselves internally as we read the book. If we are tough inside we can faced any challenged in our life. As Knute Rockne, the American Football player had quoted "When the going gets tough the tough gets going". And definitely this book will certainly fortify you internally.

The book is divided three sections:-
Section 1. Tough Times Never last, but Tough people do
Section 2. Here how you can be tough too!
Section 3. Beginning is half done. This section is one of the most inspiring section of the book.

The book begins with the story of some of the famous and not so famous personalities who have struggled and overcome the difficulties in their lives. The author narrates the spirit lifting tales of how he built up the Crystal cathedral with its many problems, roadblocks and obstacles. The authors also lay bare his tough early childhood. He had described it so vividly and so perceptibly that you will feel the troubles and pain in his childhood period as if it had happened in your life. These you can find in Section 1 of the book.

Section 2 begins with the autopsy and analysis of problem. The special characteristic of problem is that "Nobody is free from problem. A problem free life is an illusion a mirage in the desert. It is a dangerously deceptive perception, which can mislead, blind and distract. To pursue a problem free life is to run after an elusive fantasy; it is a waste of mental and physical energies".

Further, how to manage and overpower problems in a positive way has also been discussed in this book. What is leadership and Ten commandment of possibility thinking has also been discussed in this section. The last section i.e. Section no. 3 is the most important and inspiring part of the book.

Here you will find that the 26 letters of the English Alphabet being turn into action words so that you may have the inspiration to take action on your current problem and come out a winner on the other side. This is the brief summary of the book.

Now the reasons why you should read this book are discussed below:-
1. It help you look at your problems in proper perspectives:-
The author has listed some of the way to looked at your problem so that it doesn't overwhelm you. He listed some of the eternal truth of your Problem.

Some of the immutable truth of your problems are as follows:-
A. Everybody has problem. A person with no problem can be found only in the graveyard.
B. Every problem has a limited time span. Most of the problem doesn't last more than a month or a year.
C. Every problem has positive possibilities. As there is a saying that every cloud has silver lining. There is always something we can learn from problems that can make our life better.
D. You can choose what your problem can do to you. You have the power to run away and hide from the problem. Or you can choose to be brave and meet problems head on.

2. The 12 Principles of managing problem positively:- The author has listed principles of managing and overcoming the problem of our life positively. Here some of the important principles are discussed.

a. Don't underestimate: Most of the problems in our life never get solves because we tend to underestimate the seriousness of the problem. Further, we tend to underrate our potential to solve the problem. Thus, we need not to underestimate a problem or our power to cope with it.
b. Don't exaggerate:- Further there are people who are inclined to amplify their problem. We don't need it to exaggerate but we need to look at it in a proper perspectives.
c. Don't wait, start acting. :- If we have a problem we need to take action to solves the problem at hand as soon as possible. The sooner you take action the earlier the problem will be solved.
d. Don't aggravate:- We have the power to make any problem better or worse. We do this by acting positively or negatively. Remember "Nobody is defeated until he starts blaming somebody else".
e. Illuminate:- Illuminate your mind by learning new things. Get smart and get smarter by asking these questions:-
i. Has any other person faced my problem and how he overcome it?
ii. What really is my problem?
f. Sublimate: The author has written that every problem is loaded with possibilities. When you can't eliminate the problem, channelize your problem into something useful. This is very important because there are problems for which there are no solution.
g. Insulate : You need to insulate yourself from negative thought and bad habits. We need to change our habits into a positive habit.

3. Leadership: If we want to manage our problem successfully, we need to take a chance, charge and control. And how do we take control? We need to practice leadership. Leadership is the force that selects our dreams and our goals.

Leadership can be practice in the following way:-
a. Don't surrender leadership to outside forces:- Never surrender leadership to forces such as lack of fund, property or location. If you need more money, or relocate your business take charge and take control. The author has quoted "Money flows to good ideas: good ideas spawn other good ideas; dreams inspire creativity in money management.
b. Don't surrender leadership to fences: Fences are the limiting concept like I don't have required education, I lack the required fund. It causes us to lower our goals, with the result that we strive for and achieve less than our capabilities. We need to believe in our ability.
c. Don't surrender leadership to your fantasies: We have a brilliant idea to solve our problems and soon we reject it due to our negative fantasies. If you are one of these persons. Remember "If your dreams are bigger than most, if your ideas are more creative. There will be criticism"
d. Surrender your leadership to God :- let faith in God be in control of every decision and every action. Surrender yourself to God. When you are look at your life and where it's headed, ask yourself these questions:- Who am I?, Why am I here? Where am I headed?

4. Ten commandment of Possibility thinking. In this part the authors has defined Management as "Management is the control of a resource in order to minimize waste and maximize the development of latent possibilities". Further in this chapter the writer has given the ways to manage an idea through 10 Commandment of Possibility Thinking. Some of the Commandments are given below:-

a. Never reject a possibility because you see something wrong with it:- There is something wrong with every good idea. Isolate and neutralize the negative from the possibilities. And start working on that idea.
b. Never reject an idea or a possibility because you won't get the credit:- you need not worry about who gets the credit. Decisions must never be made on ego need. They must be made on human need and market pressures. Decide today: Would you rather satisfy your ego or enjoy the fruit of success.
c. Never reject an idea because you don't have the money, manpower, muscles or months to achieve it. If you don't have them, you can get them. Spend enough time, use enough energy, develop enough human resources, acquire enough financial capital and you can do almost anything.

Here we need to remember that "Nothing is more difficult than to keep waiting, working, plodding & maintaining patience through dark time. But we must".

5. For the marvellous piece of philosophy entitled "Anyway":- the philosophy read as
People are unreasonable, illogical and self centered,
Love them anyway

If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives
Do good anyway

If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies
Succeed anyway

Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable
Be honest and frank anyway

The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow
Do good anyway

The biggest people with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest people with the smallest minds.
Think big anyway

People favour underdogs but follow only top dogs
Fight for some underdogs anyway

What you spent years building may be destroyed overnight.
Build anyway.

Give the world the best you have and you'll get kicked in the teeth.
Give the world the best you've got anyway.

6. Alphabet for action:- The people at the top of the ladder work harder than anybody else. Because they have gotten into the habit of working hard. To really succeed in life, all you have to do is
a. Get started
b. Never quit. Here in this chapter all the 26 letters of English Alphabets are transformed into action words such as
i. A is for affirm:- Affirm that you can do.
ii. B is for believe that somehow, sometime, somewhere through someone's help you can achieve your heart's highest goals.
iii. C for Commit. Commit yourself to a dream
iv. D Dare to try, to love.
v. E is for Educate. Educate yourself.
vi. F Find the talent, the possibilities, the time, the money and the way.
vii. G for Give. A giving attitude is the secret to successful living.
viii. H for Hope. Hope is holding on, praying on expectantly.
Similarly the remaining letters are transformed into action words.

So this book is a must read for all the people who are facing problems in this times of turmoil. Just read it, Most of your problem will be solved by acting on the Principles given in this book. Just read it and enjoy your life.