No matter what happens, how terrible it is or if all seems lost, there is something to be gained. And, I suppose, on some kind of superficial level that means you win. We all want to win, right?

From my own negative experiences, and I have had several, let me tell you, and though it has at times been difficult to do so, I have always tried to pull some kind of positive. I have learned from doing this that it really is possible to pull a gold nugget of value (and it isn’t size that matters here!) from a pile of shit; you simply must alter your perspective…shift it a bit. So the next time you land in it, grab a pair of gloves and dig in because you never know what you will find…might not even be a gold nugget of knowledge, you might even find one of those pearls of wisdom!

There will always be something to learn from any experience, whether that experience belongs to someone else or it is your own. You can gleam even a bit of light from even the darkest of moments. However, there are just some things that you one must experience personally. There are some things that simply do not translate well second-hand. We are told to learn from other people’s mistakes, and much can be gained from these, but you absolutely must make a few of your own. At least, that is my opinion.

I don’t think you are really living if you do not allow yourself the chance to screw up here and there. Some of the most valuable things I have learned about myself, the world and those who inhabit it, were born out of what I so affectionately call blunders. Shift gears. Don’t focus on what it is you have done; focus enough to gain knowledge and learn from it. Focus on what it is you are going to do about it.