It's Far Better To Go Up To The Batting Box To Swing Like Hell And To Miss Than…

Any way you look at it, most people are failures. You know, there's the 80/20 rule, which some people correctly say is really the 90/10, or really 95/5. All this is true. I definitely agree with you.

Most people are failures—like if you believe the oft-touted Social Security System study. I don't know if it's true or not, but I know it's been circulated widely. It says that 95% of Americans reaching age 65—that's that mythical retirement age—are unprepared for retirement. They have nothing set aside, nothing that will carry them through.

I don't know if it's true, but I do know that the 80/20 rule, however you cut it, pretty well applies. Most people are not prepared. Most people are failures in life. And do you know the reason why? Well, the reason why is because most of the time, they themselves shut themselves out of the running.

They themselves, through lack of self-confidence, through fear of the opinions of others, never even put themselves in the batter's box.

What if they have the potential and sell out? It's the same thing as not having the potential, isn't it? If you sell out, if you decide to bury your dreams, if you decide you'd better play it safe, you'd better do what other people are suggesting…

…what society and the economy, and even your brothers and sisters and parents say, and even the responsibilities you think you have towards your children—I'm not going too far on the deep ground, there, because that's a sacred relationship. It's just like with our mothers, right?

But there is more flexibility than you ever dreamed, is what I'm saying there.

And in fact, that's what I'm saying everywhere. There is more flexibility than you ever dreamed. It's far better to go up to the batter's box, to swing like hell and to miss, to twirl around three, four, five times, to fall in the dust, than it is to never swing at all.

You also have the chance to knock it out of the park.

Sure, there’s a chance you’ll fail if you go for it… That’s precisely the reason most people don’t go for anything outrageous or daring.

But it’s far better to live with the gusto going for it than it is to bring certain failure on yourself because you lacked the self-confidence to even try. One way, you fail striving nobly. The other way – remember failure was what you feared – you bring it on yourself. Just with less fanfare.