This is Optimal Living Daily Episode 1972, the most trying part of living a good story.

By Jeff Goins of GoinsRider.com, and I'm Justin Malik, the guy who's been reading articles and

book excerpts to you every day, including holidays, covering personal development or self-help,

how to live a better life, and a lot more. And happy Cinco de Mayo if you're celebrating.

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The most trying part of living a good story by Jeff Goins of GoinsRider.com.

Recently I watched the Lord of the Rings films with my son and was struck by an important quote.

It spoke to me about the hardship of life and what it takes to live a good story,

and why we sometimes avoid life's difficulties. Frodo and Sam are hiking through the mountains

on their way to Mountain Doom to destroy the one ring and bring back peace to the land.

But at this point, all seems lost. They can't see beyond their present reality.

Frodo, I can't do this Sam. Sam, I know it's all wrong. By rights we shouldn't even be here,

but we are. It's like in the great stories Mr. Frodo, the ones that really mattered,

full of darkness and danger they were. And sometimes you didn't want to know the end,

because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad

had happened? But in the end, it's only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass.

A new day will come, and when the sun shines, it will shine out the clear. Those were the stories

that stayed with you, that meant something, even if you were too small to understand why.

But I think Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now. Foking those stories had lots of

chances of turning back, only they didn't. They kept going, because they were holding on to something.

...