You didn’t have a good day. At the end of it, you say to yourself, “Why didn’t it go how I wanted? I’m stuck, I forgot what I needed to do, I wasn’t myself.

The job you want hasn’t appeared, even though you applied this week to over 400 offers. You think that your money for expenses will run out in two days. Further, apparently ideal situations “salute” you but it seems like something’s holding you back from a good end with a socializing activity, participation in a competition, obtaining a benefit, and so on.

Perhaps this is the reason you lose opportunities, because you have the impression that everything is a competition, a poker game, an unpleasant dream in which you want to run quickly but you shudder at the thought that only those who run can do this at the speed that, in fact, you want to have. Stop yourself this instant from ever thinking that way again. Life isn’t a game, or at least it’s not just that. If you were to ask yourself why you live, how would you respond? You live because you can construct and improve not-so-good situations you encounter and can offer smiles to those around you. Look at some motivations. Do you like yourself? Further, today were you able to get yourself out of bed? Were you able to eat? Were you able to view the latest video clip of your favorite artist? Were you able to put headphones in your ears? Were you able to speak on the phone with a colleague? The answer is most likely yes. If you can do such things (you’d probably say that they’re banal) then why can’t you do things that will make you more satisfied? The only thing that changes is the level of difficulty you have to overcome. This assumes a bit more planning than it does to watch a video clip, as well as training and concentration, but it’s a relaxed concentration, not a tensioned one.

So far so good. You have three important aspects in your life now: Planning, Training, Concentration (PTC). Now when you see an opportunity, all you have to do is PTC!

You don’t have the job you want. So? Try 1000 times, and by doing so you’ll improve your planning (model of email, personalization of messages, the way you approach companies, channels through which you promote yourself, the environment you frequent, etc.), training (the speed with which you identify opportunities and capitalize on them), and concentration (the quality of your actions: your CV doesn’t have any typing errors, your message is concrete and explicit).

Life is a competition with yourself. Don’t run from this competition by trying to believe that your adversaries are society, companies unwilling to hire you, and so on. These are merely obstacles that you can overcome. Thus, with all the emotion in your heart (and always armed with goodwill—it’s needed), try to approach more courageously the things that interest you.

Perhaps you would like to start a business, be courageous! Be careful though, don’t exaggerate. Plan your actions. Keep in mind PTC! Don’t de-motivate yourself if you don’t succeed on the first, second or even third try. Little by little, you will succeed.

Ideally, you would find a target or list of objectives. Example: Tomorrow I want to contact 10 companies and to personalize a message for each; afterward, to relax, I’ll choose a book to read and I’ll laugh until I cry with a comedy film.

Apply the PTC method!