In the dirts

Ben Hogen said, 'the secret is in the dirt.' I don't know the context of this and whether the 'secret' was meant for just golf or life in general.

But I like to interpret this as a metaphor for success in life. Hogen himself had ups and downs in his golf career. A near fatal car accident almost ruined his career as well. But he managed to come back--in a big way. So maybe it's the great failure that can really rid all the unnecessary things and help one to stay focus.

Many successful people has also great failures along the way, but they don't stop there. They 'rise up from the ashes' and start the even more glorious second act of their career. Steve Jobs is another example that comes to mind. He was once outed from the same company he founded, but got hired back as CEO and created recent blockbuster hits like iMac, iPod, and iPhone.

Maybe their successes attribute to the previous failures--what some may even call disasters. When they are down to the level of dirt, the conjure up strength to jump up and fight again, somehow.

Not afraid of failure is probably the prerequisite for any success. And there are things nothing else can provide when one fails--that's where the secret lies.