#davesdailychallenge (119): Just One Chance. The Beatles did not become the icons they are because they won a contest. The most successful investors in history did not realize their success with one big whale of a bet that paid off. I don’t love my wife because we fell in love on a romantic vacation and have stayed in that mindset ever since. All of these things are what they are as a result of years worth of effort. Effort will include both success and failure and the unwillingness to ever quit, that substantial effort can breed into people, is a victory in itself some times. Even though I don’t personally watch these shows, I certainly understand that these are products built for entertainment and not actually meant to be a modern representation of life…but here’s the rub: for many, that is exactly what they are. Many have dreams of singing under the bright lights to a crowd of adoring fans. Are you willing to sing for pennies to crowds of drunks in order to hone your craft to perfection? Are you willing to never look at sugar again in order to reach the level of physical preparedness demanded of elite athletes? Are you prepared to take a significant other truly as they are not as you would make them? I honestly fear for the young girl who believes that if she doesn’t win a nationally televised contest singing for celebrity judges that she’ll never meet her expectations. If you are reading this and believe that success in life is all about one big break please know that it doesn’t have to be this way. You will have setbacks and you are capable of learning and growing from those failures in order to be better than you were yesterday. You will need to practice and learn and grind and grow and push but you will get there. You are not completely at the whim of another’s opinion and if you want it bad enough Simon Cowell can’t take it away from you. Go get that rose.*

* The author in no way admits to ever having watched an episode of The Bachelor or Bachelorette.