Setbacks are part of life. And it's easy to think, when you've experienced a series of them, that the cosmic decks are stacked against you, that there's no way to win.
It's really hard to keep a positive outlook, committed to the promise of a better tomorrow, when it seems that your efforts go unnoticed. Maybe you're a high school student who has done everything to put out a positive vibe and still finds himself left off of the invite list and last picked. Maybe you're a hard-working manager at a big company overlooked for the promotion and much-needed pay raise that would come with it.
It's true, life isn't fair. I can't claim that some kid from the Bronx stepping over vagrants on his way to an overcrowded school has had the same advantages that I, a son of two white working-class suburbanites did. Life's a big high-stakes card game. The greatest Americans are those who had a bum hand and bluffed their way to the top. Similarly, there are cases of anemic American royalty who have somehow come up short holding a straight flush.
The point is, in either case, you can't get caught napping. If you've got every advantage in life, there's someone hungrier than you ready to take your perch. If you're a guy who's down on your luck, stopping for a good cry will just put you that much further back in the race. America loves an underdog, someone who rises up against the odds and gives the world what for. That's because that's how this country got its start.
Inspire yourself. Take a mental picture of your finest hour. Pin it up on the wall in the room in your mind where you keep your ambitions and your fears. You're the only guy you have to beat on your way to positivity.
Remember -- there are no absolutes when it comes to measuring success. Decide what success means for you and go after it. I can't promise you'll win the race, but if you spend your energy complaining the game is rigged, I can guarantee you'll lose.
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