I am an example of someone who succeeded by failing the whole way.

Commitment is doing the thing you said you’d do, long after the mood you said it in has left you! 

Practice (...) meditation while you are on the phone; for the entire time that you are on the phone, no matter who you are talking to, regardless or your like or dislike of them, you remain 100 percent in control of your being - which you can only do by controlling your emotions. Do it in a really attentive way. Don't chatter and communicate about anything unimportant. Remember to be constantly listening to everyone you are talking to; listen to the tone of their voice; be in a calm, peaceful, and controlled state. Bring a meditative state and consciousness into your life 24 hours a day, so that you will want to do this meditation for the pleasure it brings.

Stop complaining. Take charge of your life. You need to control the mind and the senses - sharp, alert, awake. Focus your life on God by getting control of your senses. That loss of control of your senses means that you're not going to God. You control your mind with intelligence. Use your brain for control. Hardly anybody is controlling their mind and their emotions, hardly anybody. And because of this, most people are in chaos in one way or another in their lives.

People turn over their lives to spiritual work to try to escape, and want all their problems to go away, be solved; but spiritual life is hard and takes all your effort. Keep your intelligence about you.