China’s Shanghai Tower is the second tallest building in the world, at 2,073 feet, nearly 800 feet taller than the Empire State Building. Because it’s built in an earthquake zone, the building has a massive foundation with 980 foundation piles driven into the ground as deep as 282 feet, with 2.15 million cubic feet of reinforced concrete as part of a 20-foot-thick foundation mat.

It has the highest observation deck in the world on the 119th floor, offering breathtaking views of the sprawling city below. Millions will visit the observation deck annually, taking a high speed elevator that gets them to the top in forty seconds. It is truly an engineering marvel.

I’d venture to guess that the thousands that visit the observation deck daily aren’t worried about whether the foundation is properly built and can handle such a massive structure.

This isn’t 12th century Italy.

In these modern times we take it for granted that a building is built with a capable foundation, much like we often take for granted the need for a strong foundation in other areas of life.

The Dictionary definition of a foundation is as follows: a basis (such as a tenet, principle, or axiom) upon which something stands or is supported.

The key word here is “supported”. A foundation supports something larger.

Let’s take math as example. I was one of those kids that just didn’t “get math”.

I wasn’t taught it right.

That’s just not how my mind works.

The real reason I struggled is that I never really developed the core foundation of mathematics at an early age. You cannot succeed in a subject like Algebra unless you have the foundation to be successful at Algebra. A student who excels at math has the foundation to support their learning of higher levels of math.

When it came to math I was a walking, talking, Leaning Tower of Pisa.

There isn’t a successful person on earth that didn’t create their success without a strong foundation of hard work, determination and discipline. We look at successful professional athletes or entertainers and marvel at their natural talent. The reality is that people like Lebron James or Bruno Mars have reached the zenith of their profession through both incredible natural talent but also mastery of their craft through a foundation built on the work they’ve put in, and the parents, coaches and mentors that supported them along the way. You’ll never succeed at basketball at a high level unless you’ve mastered the foundational fundamentals of the game. The same goes for mastering instruments like Mars.

They’ve put in the time and built a foundation of excellence.

All too often we neglect these foundations and wonder why we aren’t succeeding and our children are struggling. Every year millions of Americans wake up in January and decide they need to get in shape. They lace on their running shoes, head out the front door and run less than a half a mile before they are so winded they feel like their heart is going to beat out of their chest. Physical exercise requires an aerobic foundation.

So what do a great majority of us do? We tell ourselves we “aren’t the running type” and give up immediately. We don’t take time to build that foundation that allows us to actually run.

Want to raise well-behaved, honest and well adjusted kids? Have a strong foundation.

Want to excel at your job? What is the foundation you’ve built to succeed?

Want to be good at a sport? You’ll have to learn the fundamentals of the sport to build that strong foundation.

The idea of a strong foundation in nearly ever facet of life is universally accepted. What’s amazing is how often we neglect our own personal foundations.

A perfect example is financial education. The level of real education in this country around how destructive debt and poor use of credit can be is is borderline embarrassing. We regularly turn out high school and even college graduates with no real understanding of how the decisions they are making at a young age financially can impact them for the rest of their lives.

If you are exiting college with $200,000 in student loans and a liberal arts degree you are not building a strong foundation for success.

Health is another perfect example. There is no need to get into great detail on the rising rates of both adult and childhood obesity in America. It’s an absolute epidemic. Poor eating habits often start at a very young age and continue into adulthood. Overweight and inactive kids turn into overweight and inactive adults who often pass on the same habits to their own children.

Of course foundations can be rebuilt. I’m the classic example of someone who financially started out with a poor foundation but over time, and a lot of hard work, I’ve become debt free and built a strong foundation for my family. That foundation didn’t come without nearly a decade of financial struggles and too many fights to count with my wife.

I was able to re-balance that tower, but it took a tremendous amount of hard work to earn the money required to become strong financially.

So if you’re struggling in an area, go back to basics and focus on the foundation. Take time to understand the characteristics that go into turning your problem area around. Everything can be deconstructed, from learning a new skill, to managing your money better, to better eating habits. Take advantage of the of the sheer amount of data that is out there to help you along. Even better, open up to a close friend about the challenges you are having. Pick someone that has had success in that specific area and get advice. Stop trying to fix the minor things and focus on the broader, foundational, issues.