"Le garçon qui va devenir un grand homme ne doit pas se contenter de surmonter mille obstacles, mais doit aussi gagner malgré mille rejets et défaites."

This quote is all about perseverance with a capital “P.” It’s saying that to become someone great, you can’t just plan to jump over obstacles. You have to be ready to keep going even when you’ve been knocked down a thousand times and faced a thousand failures. This isn't just about facing problems; it's about thriving despite them.

Imagine you’re Thomas Edison, right? We know him as the guy who invented the lightbulb, but did you know he failed over a thousand times before finally getting it right? That's what this quote is talking about. It’s not just about reaching the finish line but about getting back up every time you fall. Edison didn’t just aim to solve problems; he aimed to succeed despite repeated failures. He wasn’t deterred by the many repulses—he was fueled by them.

Now let’s put this in a more everyday context. Think about trying to learn to play guitar. At first, your fingers hurt, you can’t quite get the chords right, and every time you try to play a song, it sounds like a cat’s screeching. You could give up after the first few tries, but if you’re aiming to be great, you push through. Even when you feel like you’ve hit a wall, you keep practicing, maybe even with blistered fingers. Each time you mess up a chord or play out of tune, it’s not a defeat but a step closer to mastery.

So how do you apply this wisdom? Start by shifting your mindset. Don’t just plan for success—plan for failure too. Know that you’ll face setbacks and be ready to embrace them. If you’re working on a big project at work and it gets rejected, take the feedback and come back stronger. If you’re training for a marathon and injure yourself, use the recovery time to mentally prepare and come back even fitter. The key is resilience. When you expect challenges and prepare to push through them, you're already on the path to greatness.

Imagine you’re an aspiring writer. You’ve got a manuscript you believe in, but every publisher you send it to sends back a rejection letter. It’s disheartening—feels like a punch to the gut each time. But instead of giving up, you take each rejection as a chance to refine your story. Maybe you join a writing group, get fresh eyes on your work, and tweak it again and again. You’re not just overcoming obstacles; you’re winning despite the setbacks.

In the end, it’s about heart and grit. You need to be ready for the long haul, knowing that each repulse and defeat is just another step on the ladder to your ultimate success. It’s not about how many times you get knocked dow