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The obstacles to success

There are many obstacles to achieving success. Failure is the default position, I think. (Several 100 million sperm, one baby. Etcetera.)

So what are the obstacles? Let me not count the ways… there still many blogs to come, but I’ll just focus on one: CYNICISM.

Cynicism is such an easy, ‘adult’ excuse. It masquerades as word-weary experience, so it is very handy to pull out. And because success is more exceptional than it should be, the cynics are often right. But to be successful, you need an almost child-like naiveté:

To remain positive in the face adversity, to persist against the odds – all these things require a suspension of ‘reality’ that’s seems very self-evident to the cynic. There are always more reasons to give up than there are to keep going so to be cynical is more realistic and possibly even more rational.

Cynicism also provides the rationale after you quit – making it the easy option; justifiable under the circumstances. And because the circumstances are always stacked against success, quitting seems so reasonable.

Cynicism allows you take pot shots at those struggling up hill while you sit under the tree, enjoying the shade of the quitting tree. ‘As if…’ you say, watching the struggle, and even if someone is successful, you still have the power of statistics behind you… what are the odds anyway that you’d succeed?

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