Flames and Endurance The Flames are both a metaphor and a method for keeping track of how many times we can go through the day without hitting a wall. We use the flame like a scorecard: each time we push ourselves forward into some new challenge, we earn a point. The first challenge: make coffee in the morning. After the day, we can reflect on how many points we've earned that day, and that's our progress. Each day, we are presented with a new challenge, a new opportunity to win some progress in life. But the true lesson is not in the scorecard but in the journey. Flames can burn slowly and softly, or they can burn fiercely. They can burn out, and then we're just ashes. But we need to pay attention to our progress or we'll burn out too early. And as all things burn out, we become the ash, and that is not a good thing. Sometimes we have to put out the fires of our burning passions because the fires consume us rather than the world around us. Sometimes we can't keep working toward our goals. We do not yet have the ability to face it, but we've hit a wall. It's the time we have to take to recuperate or it's the time to make some serious decisions about life. When we hit a wall, we need to take time to reflect and then to ask ourselves, "What do I want to do next?" The point is that life never makes it easy on us. If we're going to make something, it requires constant focus and constant effort. The hardest things aren't the easiest ones, but we're not talking about that now. We're talking about just starting something we love, getting good enough at it to start getting noticed, and then getting lucky enough to get a break in some way. This is the first, hardest step in being good enough, and it is the one that is most important in terms of winning at life. Because while it's a grind, it is also the path that can take us out of the grind. ## Finding Magic in the Little Stuff The other thing you can do is to practice magic as much as you can. You know the drill: magic is a mindset. Instead of complaining about things, or fighting bad luck and hardship, you begin to notice the little pockets of magic in your life. I used to have a friend whose mother was always whining about how tired she was. One day she said to my friend, "I wish I could find a way to make you tired." Her mother said that because, every time my friend and her mother were in the car together, he would play his music loud and crank the radio up. When they got back to the house, her mother was always exhausted, and if my friend played loud, he was usually also exhausted. She said, "I wish I could make you tired, too!" I asked my friend, "What was the difference between you two?" "I never listen to my music really loud when I'm with my mom," he said. "I turn the music down." I think this little exchange shows a lot about the nature of magic and the state of magic in our society. But what is perhaps more interesting is that this was a small trick that turned my friend's mother's life around. She got the little bit of magic back. It doesn't sound like much—I can think of a dozen different ways to make someone else tired—but that exchange made a big difference to her. This is the difference between magic and life: every day, at every moment, is an opportunity for a little trick. Sometimes the tricks will be small enough to be obvious. Sometimes they will be invisible, but they'll have an impact nonetheless. If you can work magic in a real-life way, you'll be good enough. Remember that you don't have to find a little magic to make a huge impact; sometimes the smallest changes are the most important. You will be happier if you look for magic. In fact, it's much better to see the magic than to have it hidden from you. It's just the same with love, because love is a magic trick, too. All the magic in the world can't solve your problems if you don't have the love to work with. If you don't appreciate life and love, life and love don't care. It's a love story, after all. And it's the right attitude to have about everything in life. It's up to us to love and appreciate life, love and appreciate other people, and not let other people dictate our lives. There is a way to win at life, but the way is not just to be good enough—but to find the magic in life and in life's challenges and find the answers to life's questions. So let's practice magic. Let's work the magic in life every day. Let's find the magic that is already in our lives and find new ways to work that magic. Because life is the most extraordinary and beautiful thing we are given to share with others, and that is what the magic of life is about. # CONCLUSION What You Have to Say If you've read this book through until this point, then you've learned a lot. You're already a better person than many people. I promise that. If you don't believe me, take a look around at the world around you. Some of the most beautiful and productive people in the world today were raised in some of the most awful conditions in the poorest parts of the world. But somehow they saw hope and found the desire to work harder and help others. It is amazing how many people have found ways to rise above their circumstances, but sometimes we must find our own ways to succeed in life. This is the beginning of a journey. It's not the end—or even the middle—of it. There are so many more levels to the game of life. So many more places to win. So much more to discover and experience. The magic trick is in finding ways to find happiness in life. We can all win at life. If you're struggling with something now, the best thing you can do is start now. Use this book as a tool. Take this book with you and use it as a guide to create your own road map. There's nothing wrong with wanting to feel better, but if you want a magic trick, you have to begin to try and work the magic. One of the hardest things I had to do when I was first starting out is to force myself to practice magic. My family was poor, and I didn't really know how to read or write yet, so I didn't have any friends who were poor, either. I didn't know how to win at life. To this day, when I'm in the grocery store or anywhere I see other people in the same situation that I was in, I often feel like they should help me, or at least I should help them. I'm not doing enough to help, but I can never tell them what to do, because they'd think I'm crazy. I know it, and so does everyone else. At that time in my life, I didn't think there was anyone out there who could make it in life. It was all just hopeless. But one thing I did get was the hope that I could create my own hope and work to make myself better. It's that kind of courage that helped me build my life the way it is today. The lesson from this is that we should all try and work our way to a better life. No matter who you are or what your situation is, you can work the magic on yourself and in your life. Even if you think you have no hope, you can still change your life. Don't let anyone tell you that you don't have the opportunity, the talent, the drive, or the ability. Just remember: all these things are true. But not true in the way that they tell you they are. But true in a way that they really are. Work your magic and work it well. And when you get it right, try it again. When you get it wrong, try something new. You will never fail if you never stop trying. Make yourself try and work your way to a better life, and in time you'll learn a few things about yourself and a few things about how to make your life better. And you will also find a few magic tricks. There will be times when I will talk to you as though you are a good friend of mine. Why is that? The answer is really simple. I want to make you better at the game of life. If you look in my book again, I have a section titled "Life Lessons from the Little Guys." Many of the things I've said are the same things I teach my mentees in business school. If you've been paying attention, these are the same lessons I have always taught my mentees and my students. They're not just lessons to me. They're lessons to you, too. They're really simple, really basic things that you need to know, and they're things that every single human being on the planet needs to know. Even me. I need to know them, too. I just wish that I'd learned them when I was younger, so that I could have saved myself some time. But I didn't. I just lived my life, and now I am here to learn the lessons for you. I'm here to share my ideas and share the magic I've learned from others