Reversals are a way of life for most. Best laid plans suddenly go awry. Paula Abdul sang about One Step Forward and Two Steps Back.

When buffeted by the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, we want to reflect on what we did wrong rather than move forward. If we look around, we are on the high diving board and preparing to make our Olympic Dive. As former Olympian Greg Louganis would tell us, the dive at hand is the focus, not the one previously where we hit our head on the diving board.

What appears to be a dark night of the soul is the beginning of a bright new day. We are in the long game. It is a marathon, not a sprint.

We are engaged in a Herculean struggle. All of us make mistakes. Make the best of errors and triumph over adversity.

Never let the bastards get you down…

‘I wonder if I will ever amount to much,’ Chet said. ‘I have these thick glasses and am overweight,’ Chet added. ‘Some of the kids make fun of me, Chet reflected. ‘They tell me why try, you have been dealt a bad hand of cards, you are a loser,’ Chet recounted. ‘I know I can succeed and apply myself to accounting and am good at it,’ Chet smiled. ‘The numbers are like family to me, we understand each other,’ Chet smiled. ‘No one can take my education from me,’ Chet beemed.

‘I must take our taxes to Chet,’ Billy B said. ‘Although he is the head of a billion-dollar accounting firm, he still does my taxes,’ Billy B reflected. ‘Chet did not let the naysayers get him down, he did not quit, he succeeded,’ Billy B proclaimed.