The Chosen Ones Choose Themselves

Tells the J.K. Rowling story — in 1994 she filed for a restraining order and divorce, was on welfare, battling depression, and called herself "the biggest failure I knew." Five years later she was a multi-millionaire; today she is the best-selling novelist in modern history. Clear extracts the principle that drove her arc: when bad things happen to you, it may not be your fault, but it is your responsibility. Quoting Rowling's 2008 Harvard commencement address, he argues the "chosen ones" are simply those who chose themselves first.