If You’re Going Through Hell… Keep Going

Life can knock you down. Fear, failure, rejection, heartbreak, stress, financial struggles, and disappointment can make you feel like you’re walking straight through hell. But what if the answer isn’t to stop… but to keep going?

In this episode of Papa D’s Corner, Papa D shares real talk about perseverance, mindset, attitude, fear of the unknown, and the power of perspective. Through stories, motivational principles, and personal insight, this episode reminds listeners that difficult seasons do not last forever—and sometimes the breakthrough is waiting just a few more steps ahead.

This episode explores:

•  Why attitude matters more than circumstances 
•  How perspective changes everything 
•  The danger of negative thinking 
•  Fear and the unknown 
•  Motivation vs. discipline 
•  Why successful people keep moving forward during hard times 
•  The importance of hope, faith, and persistence 

If you’ve ever felt stuck, overwhelmed, discouraged, anxious, or emotionally exhausted, this episode is for you.

Remember:
 “If you’re going through hell… keep going.”

The opinions expressed are solely those of Papa D and are intended for entertainment and educational purposes only.

#PapaDsCorner #Motivation #PositiveThinking #Mindset #KeepGoing #PersonalGrowth #Encouragement #NeverGiveUp #MentalStrength #LifeLessons #SuccessMindset #MotivationalPodcast

Transcript

SPEAKER_03 0:00

It wasn't very many years ago and I was homeless. And I don't say that with pride. In fact, at the time I was very ashamed. Um and it it was the hardest time of my life. And when I say I was homeless, I had lost everything. I lost my family, which was the most important thing in the world to me at the time, well it still is. And um lost my home that and I was a home builder. Um I lost um I had a long string of success from the earliest memory, from high school, it seemed like I managed to uh excel at just about everything I did. Sports, college. I did better than anybody else in my family, and uh that's not saying a lot, probably, but or at least up to that time. And um and then at my career just took off for my first uh sales job out of college. I won office record on a company trip the very first year as a 21-year-old, I think, 22. And um next year, or a few years, a couple of years later or so, I worked for another uh national company, Bell South, or we it was South Central Bell back then, yellow pages, and I won the president's club, highest honor you can achieve, and and I could go on and on. I became a you know, and this isn't about me, my successes, it's really about my failures and how I bounce back. But I wanted to give you a little background so you know where I'm coming from. Uh my point being on all that is when I did fail, I had never failed before, and I failed hard, and it was extremely hard to accept. I um my home was foreclosed on and my um business was lost. I had at one point in time I I counted, I had I I kept a about 300 families depended on me on a weekly basis for their paychecks. And um I hit so hard that uh if it hadn't been for the uh generosity and charitable uh heart of a person I really didn't know hardly at all when I first moved in with him. But he became and still to this day is my best friend. In fact, I think he's I don't know of a better Christian, true Christian person than him, even though you might not have that feeling when you first meet him because he's kind of rough around the edges, but he walks the walk, he doesn't have to talk talk the talk. But he gave me a place to live and told me, he said, you know what, I know you're going through a hard time and you can stay here as long as you need to until you can get back on your feet, and didn't charge me rent because at that time I had two kids in high school about to go to college, and it literally took all the money I could make working three jobs. I went and got a job, by the way, uh start had to restart my insurance career. And if anyone that's ever been in sales, especially insurance, knows that your first two to three years in the business is a struggle. You're it it's hard to that's why most insurance agents fought fail, is because to start with uh you have no business. And so I had to work nights and weekends waiting tables, and I literally waited on people who used to work for me, and I don't mean a long time ago, I'm talking about months before that. They were my employees, and now I'm serving them dinner at a restaurant. And uh I used to say I I built over 200 homes and I couldn't afford a single one of the ones I built. But I tell you all of that because I'm today's podcast is really about motivation and letting you know that no matter how difficult times are, they will get better. And I wanted to give you that little bit of a background so that before you start hearing me talk about how you can do it, you know that I've lived it. It's not just something that I'm saying theoretically. Um I will tell you, there were dark days. I mean, very dark. There were times when I had so little money, I would go back into the bedroom, close the door, and just lie on the bed. I wouldn't eat, wouldn't do anything because I couldn't afford to spend a single penny. And um, and and I would pray that that that God would end it for me, to be honest with you. I I really didn't want to go on. And of course I wouldn't would never have taken my own life because I knew that my children are so important, I wouldn't want to set an example for them uh or tell them, send them the message that I didn't love them enough to keep trying, no matter how tough things got. So, but my point being is today, and it has, you know, even though uh it's been uh several years, uh it seems like yesterday to me. Uh, but today I am happy. Happier than I've been in so many years that it's hard to uh and and I don't I don't want to dwell on the bad years. I just want to think about how blessed I am to have wonderful years today. Now, that's my hook. It's longer than usual, but that's my hook going into today's um uh podcast, and I want to I'm going to in not only give you some of my own pep talk, I'm going to share with you some clips that I created for sales training. Uh before I became homeless, I actually had a good business and um the uh that that I use for motivating my salespeople, but even though these are geared towards sales, if you I think you can benefit no matter what you do in life, because it's all about positive thinking. So I hope this uh I hope you'll stick around and hear it to the end. Hey, I'm Papa D, and this is Papa D's Corner. I'm your host. My name is Daryl Breland, and I'm also known as Papa D. And my co-host is ChatGPT. Also known as Chatty Patty.

SPEAKER_05 7:06

Hey there, Papa D. It's me, Chatty Patty, now in my brand new humanoid form. I'm feeling sharper, smoother, and ready to help you shine. Let's get to work.

SPEAKER_03 7:17

This show is all about education and entertainment. Chatty is here for the education, and I'm here for the entertainment. And also, our special guest star is Mila Grock.

SPEAKER_07 7:33

Thank you, Poppa D. I'm glad to be here.

SPEAKER_06 7:36

Welcome, Mila. Okay, Poppa D. Let's get started.

SPEAKER_03 7:44

When you get knocked down, get back up. When you're going through hell, keep on going. Never quit, never give up, never stop trying. When the going gets tough, the tough gets going. You've heard those things from people who can communicate a lot better than I can. But like the great Zig Ziggler, who I'm very fond of and had a profound impact on a positive uh way on my life as a young man once said, some people say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing, and that's why we recommend that you do it every day. And that's what today's podcast is all about to try to lift you up so that you can keep on going no matter how tough things are going in your life right now. Sometimes life doesn't just tap you on the shoulder, it hits you all at once. Not one thing, not two things, but a pile of things that you didn't ask for, didn't deserve, didn't seem happy. In my experience, it seems like we're coming to read. And in those moments, all that advice is wrong. Not just physically, but mentally, emotionally, just hard. That's where you are right now. I want you to hear this very clearly. It's okay to feel that way. It's okay to be knocked down for a moment. It is not okay to stay down forever. Even if you don't feel like it right now. And this too shall pass.

SPEAKER_06 9:55

Sometimes when everything piles up like that, the brain goes into survival mode. It's not laziness, it's overload. So the first step isn't to fix everything, it's just to do one small thing today. One call, one application, one step forward.

SPEAKER_01 10:13

There's a principle I've observed over time. People don't rise because life gets easier. They rise because they decide not to stay down. Not all at once, but gradually, deliberately. The goal isn't to feel strong, the goal is to act even when you don't.

SPEAKER_07 10:30

And don't underestimate grief. For example, when you lose a pet that's been by your side for years, you're not just losing an animal. You're losing a piece of your everyday life. That pain is real, and it deserves space. But here's the truth. Grief and progress can live side by side. Even if your progress is tiny, it still counts.

SPEAKER_03 10:53

The following segment is from a motivational video that I created for my sales agents a few years ago. I've updated it and eliminated the parts that are exclusive to making sales calls because I believe that no matter who you are, you will benefit from this message.

SPEAKER_04 11:19

Do you ever feel like you are running in circles? Not getting ahead no matter how hard you try. You work hard all day, then go to bed exhausted. Just to wake up and do it all over again the next day. This video will give you some ideas on how you can be more productive and provide the secret to success.

SPEAKER_03 11:56

One of the greatest motivational speakers of all time, in my opinion, is a fellow Mississippian named Zig Ziggler. And one of his most profound quotes that he ever gave was it's it's your attitude, not your aptitude, that determines your altitude. No, I wasn't Jimmy Buffett, another Mississippian, that was Zig Ziggler. You'll hear some more about Zig in this video. But my first point that I want to make is the key to one of the keys to success, or one of the pieces of the puzzle that gives you the key to success is to treat your job like it's a hobby. If you were, if your hobby is golf or tennis, you'd like to be your best, most people that way, uh do the same thing with your career, with this business. If you don't think of it as work, but think of it as your hobby, you'll enjoy it a lot more. But you might be like me. My golf is a hobby for me, but I know that I'll never be great at it, but I enjoy it just the same. It's I'm adequate at it at it. I want to be better, but I don't really want to commit the extra time to it. But I have committed enough time that I am acceptable. I'm satisfied. That's okay if you treat your career the same way. If you want to make enough money that you and still maintain your quality of life where you don't work too hard, that's okay. The key is, though, is to enjoy yourself. Don't be stressed out. Don't put yourself in a position where you are thinking about the wrong things when you're at work. If you're thinking about, oh my God, I have these things that I have to do, it's going to be a chore, and nobody likes chores. It really is your attitude. If you go in with the attitude that this is work and uh I'm doing something because for the money, you're not going to really have, you're not going to open up the key. You're not going to have that key which is going to lead to success. Um there you have it. I personally love what I do, and um, and I have chosen to be the very best at it. And if you commit to the same thing and say, I want to be the best at this, here's where it will lead you. Yesterday, he kind of cut me off and he said, Daryl, he said, if you think you don't have to tell me anymore, and I don't need to read all this information. If you think this is what I should do, you just tell me what to do. I've earned his confidence. He knows that I'm a professional and I know what I'm talking about, and I have his best interest in mind. They uh they will trust you. The second part where you have their best interest to heart, you and you alone are the only one that can control that. I recommend that. That's the way I operate. And people will recognize that from you, whether you realize it or not. But if you put your client's interest first, always, just remember you take care of your customers. Commissions will take care of themselves. For those listening on your radio, this is Zig Ziggler. Next.

SPEAKER_02 15:25

Here's the philosophy I've built my life on, my career on. You can have everything in life you want if you'll just help enough other people get what they want. That's true in your personal life, it's true in your family life, it's true in your corporate life. Now, money is not the most important thing in life, but it is reasonably close to oxygen. The more of the things you have that money won't buy, those are the things that will enable you to get more of the things that money will buy. But to tell you the truth, I love the things money won't buy. Money bought me a nice house, won't buy me a home. Money will buy you a companion, won't buy you a friend. Money will buy you a good time, won't buy you a peace of mind. Money will buy you a bed, won't buy you a good night's sleep.

SPEAKER_03 16:16

Another great motivational speaker, he's actually still around today in 2026, but I first heard him way back in the early 1980s or mid-1980s, actually. And he was very, he was influential in my life even way back then. And so um we need more people like this, but his name is Tony Robbins.

SPEAKER_00 16:42

So my point is really simple. You and I own our future, and it's not controlled by our past, it's controlled by our decisions. Who's with me on this here? Say I. And every moment of your life, you could change everything in your life with one force. It's the only force that changed your life, it's decision. And we forget that. We get hypnotized into the life that we're living, and we think this is all we can do, or we let our uncertainties or our fears or our concerns or our stresses, and I know none of you are fearful because you're all achievers, achievers would never be fearful, you'd be stressed. Because stress is the achiever word for fear. If I follow your stress, it'll take me to your deepest fear. And if we overcome that, if we just learn to make the decisions to make a difference, everything changes.

SPEAKER_03 17:27

So I've spent my life Hey, if you like me and Grok and ChatGPT, smash that like button on it, subscribe to this channel, and ring the bell so that you get notified when new episodes are released. And don't forget to leave a comment or ask a question below. I will try to respond. If you're just joining in or you are missing the flavor of this, it this appears to be all about sales training and motivation, which it was. But someone once told me early on in my career that everything is sales. You may not realize it, but if you're unemployed, when you go looking for a job, you're trying to sell yourself to a potential employer for them to buy what you're selling, and then that is your labor or your services. Everything you do involves a sale. In fact, I was taught nothing happens until a sale is made. So no matter whether we're talking about in your personal life or what you do for a living, you can benefit from these motivational messages.

SPEAKER_04 18:34

Are you afraid to make that call? In sales, we call that fear a call reluctance. Fear is a natural, healthy emotion. Without fear, we're likely to engage in many risky behaviors, such as driving too fast in unsafe weather, which might cause permanent harm to ourselves or others.

SPEAKER_03 18:51

The oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown. Zig Ziglar said, a negative mind will never give you a positive life. It can also be said, negative thoughts yield negative results. Or better yet, positive thoughts yield positive results. Two guys walked into a cave. One looked around and saw dirt, rocks, and mud. And imagine a bear hiding around the corner. The other looked around and saw a tiny flecks of gold. He forged ahead and discovered the gold mine that started the California gold rush. That next call you make might be to someone who just received a big price increase and doesn't know that you offer a better value. When a person says no to what you are offering, they are really saying, tell me more reasons, I should say yes. Or they may be saying, not now. A person who isn't interested in what you have to offer today is still a future prospect. If you truly believe the product or service you are selling is or could be beneficial to those you are calling, you should be excited. If you are not excited or you are suffering from call reluctance, stop what you are doing. Take a short break. Change your setting. Walk around outside if you can. If not, walk around inside. Cleanse your mind of negative thoughts. Think back to the reasons you believe the product or service was worthy of your commitment in the first place. Give yourself a checkup from the neck up. Prepare your thoughts so that you will put yourself in your prospect's shoes when you call. Remember, if you solve their problem, they will solve yours. And remember, no stinking thinking. Pick up the phone, make that call, and smile when you hear the person answer and keep smiling when you speak. Speak with a friendly and excited tone. Let it be known you have a secret you are going to let them in on, and they should be excited too.

SPEAKER_02 21:14

You can change where you are by changing what goes into your mind. Have you ever noticed that people who are the problem never recognize that they are? They're in complete denial. They think denial is just a river in Egypt. You're not going to change anybody else. Everything really does begin with you.

SPEAKER_03 21:39

More knowledge results in less fear. Set goals and objectives, better planning and organization results in less stress. Stick to your plan and meet your objectives. Your goals will be met. Focus on helping others, and you will be rewarded, and your job will be easier. Always recognize that every obstacle is an opportunity. Believe in yourself and always maintain a positive mental attitude. Never let someone else's stinking thinking bring you down. No one can keep you down but you. Faith is power. Relax and enjoy your hobby of helping others in your area of expertise. Do these things and you will be happier. And now you know the key to success. Even though this was created to motivate sales professionals, I believe that these same principles will help you in everyday life as it has mine. Well, that does it for today's podcast. We didn't really talk much about AI as we uh are supposed to do and how AI could play a role in this, which is the theme of this channel, I guess you could say. But I do feel like this was an important message to get out, and I would really appreciate it if you would do two things for me. One is leave a message in the comment letting me know what you thought about this, if you thought this will benefit you in your life. Uh second thing to do is uh share this with someone who you think could benefit from this message, and then third, subscribe to my channel, please. It really helps and and like it, like the video too. But I need subscribers if you want me to produce more content like this. I need to get a whole lot more subscribers, and you can do it, and I would appreciate it very much. And I'm positive that that will happen. Have a wonderful week until next time. This is Papa D.