The past twenty-four months have been some of the most exciting and challenging times of my life. It seems like each day brings a new series of amazing wins, only to be followed by equally defeating lows. I come from a long line of entrepreneurs on both sides of my family, and early on, my entrepreneurial instincts started flexing their muscles. Now, almost three decades into my life, I find myself drawing upon many of the lessons I learned as a small boy, as I look toward the next 30 years.

2008 will most certainly be known in the history books as the year the world finally woke up and realized, reality bites! Like a bad TV show, we all sat mortified, as the global financial system was brought to its knees. Left and right, businesses large and small were closing, homes were lost, and jobs evaporated. Millions of us were horrified as the balances in our savings and retirement accounts dropped faster than the DOW!

Well, guess what. In case you haven’t figured it out yet: we did this!

Each and every one of us allowed this to happen, and the only way we’re going to get out of the mess we’re currently in is for each and every person to get off your ___, and do something!

For more than 200 years, America has been a nation of entrepreneurs. Ask any successful person and they will tell you, the single biggest secret to success is action. There will always be setbacks. There will always be someone there to tell you that you’ll never succeed. Let’s face it, if it were easy to be successful, everyone would be! At the end of the day, what separates the successful from those who are not, is simply action!

Long ago my father taught me, “Plan your work, and work your plan,” and if that doesn’t work, then try again. No matter the project, we would first talk about what we were about to do and what the plan was. Then we would make sure we had all of the necessary tools and equipment organized within easy reach so that the plan could be flawlessly executed. It was only recently that he realized he’d been teaching me how to C.O.P.E. with anything that life threw at me, i.e., how to be successful. It isn’t difficult to be successful, but it does require that you get off your ___ and learn to C.O.P.E.!

Learn to Communicate. Whether talking with employees, investors, your peers, family, or friends, communication is key.

Learn to Organize. Successful people learn early on: one plus one can equal three, if you know how to organize the right team for the right project.

Learn to Plan. Like your roadmap to success, a well-thought-out plan becomes your step-by-step guide for what to do next.

Learn to Execute. If you never put your plan into action, you’ll never know the results. If you never know the results, you’ll never know if it was a success. If you want to be a success, learn to execute.

Nothing you have just read should strike you as earth-shattering. It’s all just common sense, which unfortunately, has become very uncommon nowadays. Take it from someone who knows, being an entrepreneur is not for the faint of heart, and being successful is certainly no walk in the park! But at the end of the day, success will come to those who G.O.Y.A. and learn to C.O.P.E.! No matter what life throws at them!

Publisher’s note: While the origins of G.O.Y.A. are unknown, John Assaraf often refers to the “Law of GOYA.”