Gustave Courbet
*Desperation: Self-Portrait*, 1845

A young man asked a wise man, “How do I succeed in life?”

The wise man led him into a deep pond and held his head underwater. The young man struggled until he finally broke free, surfaced, and gasped for air.

“What did you want most underwater?” asked the wise man.

“To breathe!”

“Not wealth, fame, or new clothes?”

“No. Just air.”

The wise man smiled. “That is true desire. When you want success as desperately as you wanted that breath, you’ll achieve it. Until then, it’s only a passing wish.”

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