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Contrary to popular opinion, life does give second chances. In fact, it gives third, fourth, and 100th chances as well. The only thing that stops any one of us from grasping those chances is our own fear. The paralyzing desire to avoid future hurt by staying down is a powerful force.

Fortunately, there is a way to approach any huge endeavor that can make it seem almost easy. The ingredients for success are around you, and you need only to follow this five step plan.

1. Friends and Family - Pride will often push us into a corner, telling us that others will not understand our struggle. Odds are, at least one of the people you love will be not only able, but extremely willing to hear you out. If your family situation is fraught with psychic peril, turn to valued friends. Let them share your fear so they can share your triumph down the road.

2. Achieveable goals - If you want to be a dentist some day, it may be daunting to think of everything that stands in your way. Use the vision of yourself in your future office as a motivator, but set more reasonable goals to give yourself near-term victories to look forward to. Maybe just researching schools and picking one will be a doable first step. Then just take things one class at a time.

3. Love over Money - You may need to take an uninspiring job to make ends meet, but if you're truly starting over, the sky is the limit. If you've been torn down to square one, you have a chance to re-invent yourself as someone who is fulfilled and happy. Go for the dream. Do what you love, even if it takes you a while to get there.

4. Face obstacles and defeat them - At a funeral for a wise man, one of his sons told a story about his first driving lessons on the dirt roads of his mountain home. "Dad told me not to try and drive around the rocks in the path, or try to straddle them, but to put my wheel directly on the obstacle and let traction take me to safety". You may have to drive over a few rocks on your way to your ultimate goal. You may be able to avoid a few, but eventually you will have to find a way to conquer them. Take the challenge in stride.

5. Give yourself permission - Many of us don't feel like we truly deserve to be happy. Why not? Our past mistakes might seem like history waiting to repeat, but they are actually learning experiences that allow us to revamp our approach to life. You learned those lessons the hard way, and you deserve to reap the rewards.

Many of these steps come from internal sources, but anyone who wants to succeed will need a support network as mentioned in step 1. I friends and family are far away, try an online community of others with similar goals. Write a blog about your experiences, and you will most likely get comments from others who share your outlook on life. Join a club or take a class just for the fun of it. We are only alone if we choose to be.

The best books and movies are about redemption. Be the star of your own story!

Learn more about this author, Eric Angevine.
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