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given to you for nothing. In the words of Benjamin Franklin, "The Constitution only gives people the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself." When you achieve something, you cannot simply stop there and expect that success to carry you through life. Sir Winston Churchill, who lived a long life, filled with peaks and valleys, knew that "Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts."

Any endeavor that you choose to undertake can put you in a position to fail. Likewise your risk could put you in a position for an even greater victory. Mark Twain, a great judge of both, human potential and weakness warned, "Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great." Eleanor Roosevelt had a different perspective with her advice that "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent." When you have set your sights on doing something whether it may seem possible or not, you need to be steadfast in your conviction. You may need to be a bit irrational as George Bernard Shaw described his notion of how advancement is initiated when he wrote, "Reasonable people adapt themselves to the world. Unreasonable people attempt to adapt the world to themselves. All progress, therefore, depends on unreasonable people." Winston Churchill expressed this same feeling, observing that "Kites rise higher against the wind, not with it."

In many ways this life we live and how we feel about it is dependent on the effort we put forth. Margaret Thatcher's belief was that you should "Look at a day when you are supremely satisfied at the end. It's not a day when you lounge around doing nothing; it's when you had everything to do, and you've done it." How many times have you actually had a day like that? They may not occur frequently because ever present distractions sidetrack your plans. Vince Lombardi, who knew something about following through and achieving successful results, took the view that "Obstacles are what you see when you take your eyes off the goal."

Along the path of your life you have many decisions to make and some may be simpler than others. Abraham Lincoln had his share of heartache, yet he still found joy in life and felt that "People are just as happy as they make up their minds to be."

Words can turn the "wrong side of the bed" into the right side. They can give you the "kick" you need to send you on your way. These expressions can turn adversity into adventure or through artful arrangement of words and beautiful imagery, set your mind on a journey to unexplored ideas. Edward Teller described beautifully and optimistically, the act of venturing beyond one's comfort zone in saying, "When you come to the end of all the light you know, and it's time to step into the darkness of the unknown, faith is knowing that one of two things shall happen: Either you will be given something solid to stand on or you will be taught to fly."

Learn more about this author, Rick Newton.
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