The world bursts at the seams with people ready to tell you you're not good enough. On occasion, some may be correct. But do not do their work for them. Seek any job; ask anyone out; pursue any goal. Don't take it personally when they say 'no' - they may not be smart enough to say 'yes.'
Interpretation
This quote encourages individuals to pursue their goals despite criticism and rejection from others.
Keith Olbermann emphasizes that the world is filled with naysayers who may undermine your abilities. While some critiques might hold truth, it's important not to let others' doubts dictate your self-worth or deter you from pursuing your aspirations. Instead, you should actively seek opportunities, whether in employment, relationships, or personal achievements, and remember that rejection is not a reflection of your value, but rather a limitation in others' perspectives.
In practice
During a career workshop, one might quote this to inspire participants to apply for jobs they think they don't deserve.
What would you do, sir, if terrorists were killing 45,000 people every year in this country? Well, the current health care system, the insurance companies, and those who support them are doing just that. [...] Because they die individually because of disease and not disaster, [radio host] Neal Boortz and all those who ape him approve this. Forty five thousand a year in America. Remind me again, who are the terrorists?
I don't think that once you get to one level, you can relax. You've got to keep pushing.
How you shape your attitude is not a small part of how you shape your life...it is the only part.
You truly have to make the very best of what you've got. We all do.
For all of us today, the battle is in our hands. The road ahead is not altogether a smooth one. There are no broad highways to lead us easily and inevitably to quick solutions. We must keep going.
Failure, to me, is not having the desire to try. Having the desire to try is in it own way success.
There is nothing that teaches you more than regrouping after failure and moving on. Yet most people are stricken with fear. They fear failure so much that they fail. They are too conditioned, too used to being told what to do. It begins with the family, runs through school and goes into the business world.
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