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CHAPTER 1 / FORGET JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING YOU WERE EVER TOLD ABOUT POSITIVE THINKINGNO B.S. Guide to Succeeding in Business by Breaking All the Rules 15%u201cThey All Laughed When I Sat Down at the Piano%u2014But When I Started to Play.%u201d It appeals to the desire we all experience, at one time or another, to succeed at something in order to exact revenge against those who doubted or mocked or criticized us. It demonstrates that a %u201cnegative%u201d emotion can inspire %u201cpositive%u201d actions and results. Most successful people choose not to talk about it, but many were and are motivated by very ignoble, %u201cnegative%u201d emotions. I don%u2019t think any author of any of the gazillion how-to-succeed books has ever addressed this. Instead, most preach the idea that you must eradicate, suppress, or give up all such negative emotions, forgive everybody, and focus only on positive, happy thoughts. And that sounds right. But reality does not prove it to be true.And this is just one of a number of ways that %u201cpositive thinking%u201d is misunderstood and misused.Incidentally, I drove professionally in harness races for 20 years. When I began, I was not yet competent, and I was unwelcome. The pros saw me as somebody dropping down out of the sky, from the clubhouse, disrespecting them by daring to think I should be on the same track as they were. %u201cWhy,%u201d I was often asked, %u201cdon%u2019t you just drive in amateur races?%u201d Over time I earned their respect and got treated as a peer, colleague, and capable competitor. On the occasion of my 100th win in the sulky, I remember thinking about Pat Day and his %u201cFive!%u201d as I drove my horse, Lightning Luck, to the Winner%u2019s Circle for the photo. To him, and to myself, I said %u201c100!%u201d out loud. With that win, as with some others, I beat two of the leading drivers in the country. With Apologies to Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, Here%u2019s What%u2019s Wrong with Positive ThinkingMy mother was a huge fan of Norman Vincent Peale and you may be, too. I met the late Dr. Peale on two occasions, and I certainly respect his enormous influence, but I am convinced he may be one of the most