B through Y: The Underdog's Process of Seizing Opportunity, Control, and Respect

By Marcus W. Johnson

Do you feel "stuck" in your current position?

Are you facing a difficult task and not expected to succeed?

Do you sometimes feel overmatched in business, school, sports, or social life?

Underestimation is such a gift...if viewed this way. Underdogs have far more advantages than they give themselves credit for. What lies at most frustration is the time it takes to get over the hump. In a "microwave society" which promotes the A to Z quick fix, B through Y highlights the importance of the process. Interestingly, this is where the real magic happens! Often it's one action, characteristic or combination that transforms an underdog's situation. This book sparks inspiration as well as equips readers with unique and insightful strategies for advancement. Being the underdog isn't all that bad. Here's how to make it work for you.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Aug 20, 2013
• ISBN: 9781483509976

Book preview

ambitions.

Chapter 1: A

Are

Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.

- Arthur Ashe

So here you are - ready to take the step and go to the next level. First things first: An underdog has to be extremely aware and grounded in reality, just not limited by it. No need in fooling ourselves. Accurately assess your situation no matter how good, bad, or ugly it is. Nonetheless, decide enough is enough!

The past is just that. There’s nothing you can do about it. Similar to having a nail in your car’s tire - you don’t go back to search where you ran over it, you simply take it out, fix it, and keep moving.

The time for calculated, positive, and forward movement is now. No longer will you be passive. No longer will you subscribe to limits others have placed on your abilities. No longer will you give in and give up to the challenges and obstacles placed before you.

Being the underdog contains its frustrations and disappointments. At times you will experience moments of isolation, second-guessing, and exhaustion. Yet, your resilience will transform these periods of time into valuable references. These references ironically become advantages.

The common belief is that underdogs are more motivated to win. The opposite has been shown to be true. Those who are favored and on-top will go to extremes to maintain their position. If they triumph, nothing changes. However, if the underdogs succeed, then people have to re-evaluate what’s taken for granted, what’s normal and their very own possibilities.

On February 22, 1980, the Miracle on Ice occurred - USA hockey team pulled off a stunning victory over the hugely favored Soviet Union. Interestingly, this exact day had the least reported cases of suicides in the US from 1972 to 1989. People witnessed and experienced overcoming odds and they applied this possibility to their own life.

Roger Bannister, the first person to run the mile under 4 minutes is upheld as the model of positive thinking. Yet, it was his training, talent as a runner, combined with faith that allowed him to break the record in May of 1954. He broke a physical and psychological barrier. After him, came many. But they didn’t roll out of bed and start breaking records -they trained. It took a process.

When enough underdogs succeed at their goals, it creates a ripple effect. This ripple turns into a wave which then becomes a tide. People can’t help but to become a part of this new reality. A reality where opportunity, control, and respect (OCR) produces a freedom and liberation of life’s constraints. Continue to see how this is