The Odds Are Ever in Your Favor

“We are here to laugh at the odds and live our lives so well that Death will tremble to take us.”

Charles Bukowski

Do any of these statements sound familiar?

 “The odds of succeeding are slim”

“So many people have already failed”

“Every step forward seems like two steps back” or

“Those more qualified are struggling right now”

It’s when you know where you want to go, what you want to change, you can see the vision, the goal and then you (hopefully) sit down and start planning.  Maybe you start doing some research to see what you’re getting yourself into, or you may wait until you’re struggling to see just how hard this journey will be, and that’s when the numbers hit you:

Weight Reduction: More than 50% of the weight was gained back in two years, 80% in five years

Annual income of $100,000: Approximately only 7% of the US population makes between $100,000 and $200,000 annually

Successful Personal Trainer: This industry has an 80% turnover rate.

Millennial Generation Homeownership: Only 43% of millennials own their own home.

Happiness: Only 14% of the people in the US are reported as being very happy

Successful Small Business: After five years only 50% make it

I know, I’m such a “Debbie Downer”, you’re reading this blog for inspiration not for the reality of cold hard facts.  If you’re thinking about stopping your efforts because the odds of success seem insurmountable, I want you to hold up right there. What if I told you that you’ve already overcome the greatest odds you’ll ever have to in your life, would that make you feel differently?  What if you overcame the odds of 1 in 400 trillion, how bad ass would that make you feel?

Guess what, you have….you’ve overcome the odds of 1 in 400 trillion, because those are the odds of you being born.  Those are the odds of that sperm fertilizing that egg, producing your embryo and that embryo growing in a womb making all the genetic matches and mixes for ~ 9 months until you were delivered unto this world as the perfect little miracle that you are.

Let that really sit with you…1 in 400 Trillion (some have even calculated 400 Quadrillion and I haven’t even added the odds of being on a planet which supports ‘life’). Would something that has no purpose, something worthless, something not meant for greatness be able to beat those types of odds? I think not. Knowing this, you need to start approaching the odds laid out in front of you like the freakin’ miracle you are.