"Give it your all" and "do your best" are common phrases that imply if you just try hard enough and do as good as you can you will find success.
In many cases this true, but not always.
You won't hear many of the so-called success gurus that will be that honest with you, but I'd rather help you get a head and if that means a small dose of reality, then so be it! Being realistic means you have to understand that sometimes your best isn't good enough.
Let that sink in for a bit...
When your best isn't good enough, you have two choices.
You can quit, or you can get better.
This article is about success, so you may assume I will push you to get better.
For the most part, I will make that push, but there are exceptions.
Sometimes it's better to try something else.
Chasing after, and achieving dreams is an awe inspiring process.
It would be difficult to deny that, but what about the times when a different goal is a better choice? First, you have to decide if changing course is the best thing to do.
Ask yourself if it's really your dream, or someone else's; if you're chasing out of a sense of fulfillment, or duty; and if you have grown to a point where the dream isn't what you thought it would be.
A good example of the last question are people who chase money, amass wealth, then realize that money was never really their goal.
I am not suggesting that you easily discard your dreams when the going gets tough.
Once you have decided it is a true and worthy dream (or goal), then you have to move on to getting better - working to the point where your best IS good enough.
Even if your best isn't good enough now, if you have given it your best (saying you did, and actually doing it are not the same thing) that counts for a lot.
Do not dishonor your abilities, talents, and efforts by giving up.
Try harder, get better, give it your all, make it happen, and succeed.