"The upriver salmon migration is one of nature's most mysterious dramas. To some species of Pacific salmon, it is a long, strenuous, desperate race against time, with every obstacle taking a toll. The journey is an example of phenomenal effort. Determination."
Pacific salmon may swim hundreds, even thousands, of miles to their birthplace to spawn. This genetic determination keeps them fighting upriver to return to their spawning grounds and repeats generation after generation.
The circle of life and death takes mental toughness. First, they must survive their years in the ocean, staying safe amid commercial fishers, natural predators, and storms. Only the strongest survive by swimming against the swift current, leaping over steep waterfalls. 
The male must fight off other males at the spawning grounds to keep them from his female of choice. The female covers her eggs with silt and stands watch for several hours or days. Finally, she lays her eggs, and the male deposits his sperm over them. The salmon turn into brilliant colors and die within a few days of spawning from injuries and exhaustion.
Many successful entrepreneurs possess an "innate ability to persevere through the difficulty and adversity at all cost." Some who may have written a resume of failure tend to give up amidst the difficulty.
There is no circumvention of life's struggles. It is not the absence of effort and difficulty that constitutes peace. It is strength and resolve that ensures that you will emerge victoriously. As a man thinks in his heart, so he is.
Thomas Edison exclaimed, "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work."
Entrepreneurs must tap into determination and grit and tell themselves to get up every day and give it the best they can to keep the business going despite long odds.
Nurturing Determination
Faith. Believe in yourself and your dream. Solid belief produces the strength to carry on, whatever life throws at you.
Commitment. Commit to your goal and plan. Famed business philosopher Peter Drucker said, "Unless commitment is made, there are only promises and hopes, but no plans."
Consistency. Work on consistency. This builds momentum and feeds your determination.
Confidence. Be a "Teflon" entrepreneur. Family, friends, and the public all will offer advice along the lines of "this will never work; get a real job." Let it slide off as you press onward.
Focus. The details and decisions involved in starting and running a business can be overwhelming and never-ending. Keep your goal front and center, decide what is most important each day, focus on it and persevere.
Make your own "luck." If you believe in yourself, it is just a small step to believing in the goodwill of the universe, that events can conspire to support what you truly believe in. This type of synergy is hard to explain but happens daily. Work hard. Let the world know you're determined. And you'll make your luck!
"When you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on." Franklin D. Roosevelt
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