There are many, many people, events and variables that contribute to happiness and success in life.

But there is one variable that has consistently, over time, been forced out of the public conversation around success.

That variable? Yourself.

I have never heard an actor, CEO, musician or anyone receiving an award publicly stand up and thank themselves for the hard work, determination, commitment and resilience it takes to succeed.

That pisses me off immensely. If you’ve worked hard, you deserve to be proud of yourself and say it out loud.