Applying for a grant seems like an enormous challenge, sometimes akin to Sisyphus' task of rolling the boulder up the hill. In many ways, obtaining funding can be challenging, yet year after year, new investigators do obtain funding, even though there are times when the funding percentage can be low. This review offers some suggestions of what to do after the first or second round of critiques are back. There are some relatively straightforward steps one can take to improve one's chances of success. The joy of funding is worth it!