I think / that we, / in some strange way / are conditioned to believe / that success comes overnight / that success is microwavable, / that success / can go into an air fryer / and it can come right out. // In some / strange way / we are convinced / that if, / in fact, / the journey / is too hard / or that the journey / takes too long / or that the hurdles / are too frequent / or that the mountain / is too tall. // That maybe / this means / that this is not for us. // Maybe this means / that this isn't / supposed to happen for me. // Maybe this means / that I'm in the / wrong space. // When in fact, / it's quite the opposite. // I think / you're actually / right on the road / you're supposed to be / when it's hard. // When something's easy / it sounds like / it's not supposed to be yours. // Often times / we want the finish line / without running the race. // You have / something / that you're going for / and just / because it's hard / doesn't mean / that it's not / meant for you. // It doesn't mean / that this isn't / supposed to happen. // It just means / that you are / in the middle / of a process... // and you have to stay / on that process. // People ask me / all the time , / "Deshauna, / why'd you keep going? / why'd you keep going? / why' you keep going?" // It's because / I understood / that this is a process // and that / if it was easy, / everybody would achieve it. // The reason why / it's easier for me / to be able to stay / on the road / to success / whether it is / through Miss USA, / whether it is / through 11 years / in the military, / whether it is / through a Master's Degree , / whether it is / through the seven years / it took for me / to become a / notable speaker / whether it is / to be / an author / or a nonprofit / CEO. // I / understand / the process / and I understand / the road / and I understand / that this isn't meant / to be / easy. // Therefore, / it is so much / easier for me / to climb / this mountain / because I understand / the terrain / that I'm about / to experience. // Each / and every one / of you / need to understand / the road / that you're on / and the terrain / you're going to experience. // It makes it easier / for you to be able to handle it. // If you / walk into / something thinking / that it's supposed / to be easy / then you're wondering / why it's hard and then / that's why / you're ready to give up. // I have two challenges / in this part / of perseverance. // One, / I challenge you / to accept / this road / for what it truly is / and get rid / of the fairy tales. // Get rid / of whatever is / telling you is / supposed to be easy //. And / then I / challenge you / to never let a failure / go to waste. // What do I / mean by that ? // Every / single time / I went back / to this / state competition, / I learned / more / and more / about myself, / that by the end / of that seven-year period, / I became / a more elevated version / of Deshauna. // By the time, / I got / to the Miss USA stage, / I had learned everything that I needed to learn / to be able to handle a national title. // Every single year / Deshauna got better. // After about 3 years, // I realized, / "Deshauna, / this wig isn't going to work." // It's not going to work D. // You got to let it go. // Y'all saw the wig, // we don't have to spend / too much time on it, // but there's a wig... // and I kept wearing it. // But after three years, / I got it, / okay. // The girls know / I got / I got the / the bundles in / after a while. // We got it together, / right? // What I'm saying / is that / every single time / you run into a hurdle, / every single time / you run into a loss... / every single time / you run into a failure . // I want you / to take that lesson / home / with you. // And then the next day, / I want you / to show up better. //