Have you ever noticed how some successful people prosper despite difficult economic times and make money despite past failures? And have you ever noticed how some get rich despite personal shortcomings.

We all know people who put money in their pockets regardless of whether conditions are favorable or unfavorable. And they do this despite having failed more times than they care to remember and even sometimes being their own worst enemies.

In essence, here is the secret that supports their long-term success. They know how to marshal their mental and emotional forces and mine gold in the midst of garbage.

Here is why this is so important. You cannot make the journey from where you are to where you want to be without finding your share of garbage!

This garbage might be conditions that stink, a string of bad luck that causes self-doubt, or an insecurity that gets the best of us. So I have good news and bad news.

Here is the bad news. Conditions are not always favorable. In fact, they are quite often unfavorable. Sometimes they even stink.

Unless you are very gifted or very lucky, you have had your share of failure and then some. And even if you are gifted and lucky, someday your luck will run out and your giftedness will prove a poor substitute for grit.

You will never be so far along the success path that you do not impose a mess or two upon yourself. Unwittingly, even the best of us are still our own worst enemies.

Here's the good news. Lots of garbage really means lots and lots of gold! In fact, if we do not know how to turn lots of garbage into gold, we will have very little gold.

Why? There is a lot of opportunity that looks more like garbage than opportunity!

Just as a miner has to remove lots of earth to get to the gold, we have to sort through lots of garbage to get to the gold. So make your peace with the garbage of your day-to-day business life. In fact, learn to embrace it. You will find lots of gold hidden inside.

Here is a simple way to do this. Build the expectation that "Where there is garbage, there is gold."

In fact, equate gold with garbage. Expect to find lots of gold in even the lousiest looking garbage and make the most of it.

This works because your expectation becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy. You find the gold amid the garbage because you expect to find it. And you will never be disappointed.

So get used to the garbage of whatever description. It is gold in disguise.

When you see through this disguise, you will get rich, stay that way, and make others wonder how you did it.