Fallen and I Can't Get up

"Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it."

Have you ever heard that?

I know of this one guy. He fell on hard times, dropped out of school, and his first business he started failed. he kept at it though and went on to build the global empire that is Microsoft.-Bill Gates

This one lady i know of had an abusive childhood, had career setbacks, and was told once she was unfit for t.v.. Now shes an ICON and one of the wealthiest, most successful women on the planet.-Oprah Winfrey

This other guy was fired from his first two jobs, failed to make a successful invention his first 1000 attempts, and was told once that he was too stupid to learn anything. Today his inventions have helped shape the modern world.-Thomas Edison

Now I don't present you with these examples to make you feel small or to tell you you're going to fail 1000 times. I present you with these examples because these people were once like you and I. The difference though is that when these people were told no, pushed down, and stepped on, they kept getting back up.


Did you ever notice how emotional struggles and falls in our lives reflect the physical act of falling down? when you take a spill, when you fall down (yeah some people might laugh) but how do you act? Maybe you cried? maybe you fell so hard you didn't think you'd be able to get back up but tried it anyways? maybe you blamed someone else for making you fall?

We all want to lead happy successful lives. The problem for most people though is that they allow themselves to be held down by circumstance. My question to you is, when times are tough, how do you react? when things seem like they cant get any worse (and sometimes things do get worse), how do you respond to that adversity in your life?

In order to have a successful life, whatever success means to you, you are going to have to arm yourself. Arm yourself with the understanding of what these obstacles really are, and the one simple tool that can be used to overcome and challenge.

Understand that it doesn't matter who you are or where you come from, tough times are inevitable and they may find you in abundance. Understand that life's obstacles are not designed to KEEP us down. These walls are there to let us prove how badly we want something. Only by contending with adversity that seems beyond your strength to handle will you meet your potential.

Finally, gratitude is the key. Simple appreciation is the single greatest tool you posses to get you through tough times. Be grateful you're alive. Be grateful for those you love and those who love you. Be grateful for the disappointments because they allow you to recognize more clearly the things that matter most.

Life get tough its no secret but by looking at the lives of those who came before us we can see clearly that the ability to take falls and keep getting back up is the mark of the spectacularly successful.

Given this knowledge maybe you wont live to do the things Bill Gates, Oprah Winfrey, or Thomas Edison have done. Maybe you'll live to do more.