One important lesson that I have learned is that there will always be someone ahead of me. Thus, in my opinion, it is better to be realistic in our approach and not to think only about oneself. We should keep this mind and just try our best at whatever we do in life, and at the same time, prepare ourselves for the fact that we too can fail in life just like anybody else. Practically speaking, failure and success are not our choice, but whichever comes first we should learn to accept it and move forward.

-- Zurmang Gharwang Rinpoche