Do you feel like your back is against the wall? Do you feel like the deck is stack against you? Do you want to know how to beat the odds?

Beating the odds requires shifting from a passive mindset to active, strategic, and resilient behavior. The 5 steps to beat the odds are: Know your numbers, follow doctor’s orders, move more, tweak what you eat, and quit smoking.

It is possible to beat the odds Beating the odds is a misnomer, because the odds are simply a ratio expressing the probability one outcome to another.

You just have to know the end already and live your life in faith as though you know the ending.

To defy the odds you must stay committed to your goals no matter what challenges may arise. Practice resilience and the ability to recover quickly from difficulties. Invite adversity and understand that things may not come easy.

As the song from Hee Haw, “If it wasn’t for bad luck, I have no luck at all.”

Believe me, there are days I feel that way. I feel like it one step forward and 2 steps back. It seems like the deck is stack against me or people of low income and working class. It seems hard to get ahead in life. Sometimes your background can holds you back from getting ahead. It seems that money talks; and when you’re rich you have the upper hand in beating the odds.

This is not just about the rich and poor but life in general. Life is a gamble! Sometimes you win-sometimes you lose.

You got to know when to hold them, know when to fold them, know when to walk away, and know when to run. You got to know how to play the cards handed to you in life. You have to learn to pick your battle if you are to win in life and get ahead. There are some who will take advantage of you if you’re not careful.

There’s no fight you can’t fight. The battle is yours. It’s how you play the game that will determine if you will win or lose. It’s games people play to win in life.

Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed playing BINGO; even though I haven’t done it a long time. I even enjoyed going to the casino; but it been years since I have gone. I don’t have the gambling addiction that runs in my family. I remembered going to the casino with my mother early morning; which was the best time to go before they tightened the slot machine to make it tougher to win. I even remembered going with someone by renting a limo to Shooting Stars Casino. I didn’t win at the slot machine but won $100 in pull tab. If you go as a group, you can blow your winning very easily if you’re not careful. That is how the casino gets you. They are not about to lose money.

I even bought scratch-off tickets and Powerball tickets to try to win big. It’s not very easy to win the big Powerball. The odds are stack against you. It’s pure luck if you actually do win the Powerball. Those who do win knows how to beat the odds. The odds of winning the Powerball jackpot are approximately 1 in 292.2 million, an extremely long shot.

It would be nice that whoever does win the Powerball, actually does needs the money; but the odds are against them.

As you know this coming Sunday is the Super Bowl. This year it comes down to the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots. People make predictions by playing the odds on who is going to win the Super Bowl. It’s a game of chance to pick the winner. It’s not how you win or lose but how you play the game. In the beginning of the season, no one had any idea who was going to be in the Super Bowl. Predictions were made though. The last few years, the Kansas City Chiefs were in the Super Bowl, and some was wondering how long can they keep up their winning streak

The last time the New England Patriots were in the Super Bowl, Tom Brady played for them. They even had a scandal involving deflated football, that some felt they cheated.

I’m routing for Seattle Seahawks to win, because if I don’t rout for them, I may never hear the last of it from my family out West in Washington State. I know that they are routing for the Seahawks to win. This is my pick for the Super Bowl. What’s yours?

It’s not about who win or lose but how you play the game that counts. If the cards seem to be stack against you and your back is against the wall. You can still turn it around just by knowing how to beat the odds. It doesn’t matter if you’re actually gambling or just in the game of life. I’m not a gambling man; but life is a gamble. You got to know how to play the game in life if you want to beat the odds.