Overcoming Obstacles

In an optimal world, a person’s goals would be easy to achieve and have no large obstacles in the way of getting to that goal. Unfortunately, that is not how the world tends to work. There are many obstacles that stop people from reaching the point they want in life. In a quote by Ralph Marston, he touches on this topic. Marston points out that a person has enough hindrances in the way of their goal, so one doesn’t also need their own self getting in the way and trying to stop their path to success. He seems to be saying that in order to achieve a goal, people mustn't get in their own way. While this can be true, there are also some instances where people did get in their own way, yet were still able to achieve great outcomes. To start, there …show more content…
One example of this exception is in Bill Gates. Bill Gates, known for his Microsoft empire, is currently one of the richest people in America. Although his life leads an image of greatness, at one point in time he himself became a roadblock to his own success. While he did get into Harvard, he later dropped out. Along with this, the launching of his first business failed. The failure of this first business obviously had its own worldly given obstacles, but he did create his own obstacle by dropping out of Harvard. Now, looking back it isn’t known what would have happened if he stayed in school at Harvard. Who knows, his first business could have been greater if he had learned more at Harvard. However, despite this initial failure, Gates still managed to become unimaginably successful. Gates became his own obstacle, yet was able to still achieve his goal of having a successful company. This introduces a flaw in Marston’s quote. People may become their own obstacles, but they can still be able to push through with the help of perseverance. The failure of one dream can lead to the success of another, just as it did in Bill Gates's life. Contrary to Marston’s quote, people can have multiple paths, each one leading to something greater. One path may have one success at the end of it, but