A true story, I’m afraid… 
I used to be really into motivational stuff. Still am, up to a point. I suppose everyone needs a little pep talk now and then, and I used every resource I could find—books, tapes, cds, etc.
I once listened to a tape by a prominent motivational speaker who claimed he knew a woman who claimed she could find a four-leaf clover in any yard. She then proceeded to find one in the speaker’s yard with very little difficulty. 
Being the challenge-challenged person that I am, I was intrigued. And, being the idiot that I can also be, I decided to give it a whirl. 
It was a warm summer day, a day for sitting in the sun and relaxing, enjoying the weather. And my yard seemed perfect for this challenge. It’s pretty sizeable. Okay, it’s a veritable park. But according to the motivator, the key was being absolutely CERTAIN you could find a four-leaf clover.
I made up my mind to be certain. 
On hands and knees, I raked through a large portion of the grass near the house. Lots of clover there. Piece of cake, I assured myself.
But within a half hour, the bad back had kicked in—and no four-leaf clover. Lots of three-leafed clover, loads of bugs, but no prize clover.
Okay. I don’t quit easily. 
I pulled out the lawn chair. Eased the pressure on the spine, and I could still look through the waves and waves of clover. If it wasn’t in one spot, I’d move the chair to another. I just KNEW it was there, waiting just for me to find it. 
An hour and a half later—I’m still looking. I’ve got an audience of two pissed-off squirrels, wondering if I’m looking for their stash of nuts, and an occasional deer creeping slowly by the strange human combing through the grass. 
A smidgeon of doubt is starting to creep in. This clover search is becoming a metaphor for life! Why is it so easy for some people to find it? Is it my lack of vision? Am I just looking in the wrong places, parked myself in the wrong spots? Am I just silly to believe any kind of hype I hear? Am I not positive enough, not motivated enough?
If nothing else, however, I am a stubborn cuss. I will not be defeated! I keep at it, even when I see a car pull up in the driveway and hear the door slam. Even when I see a pair of tennis shoes belonging to a friend of mine before me, trampling my precious clover.
He watches for a moment. “Um…what are you doing?”
Well, for pete’s sake, isn’t it obvious?! I patiently explain the logic behind my madness to him. I tell him about the confident clover lady. I’ve become obsessed now, moving my chair ever thirty seconds or so, my fingernails taking on the greenish tint of the grass. “I know there’s a four-leaved clover here,” I murmur. “There may only be one on this ballpark-sized property, but it’s here. I’m convinced of it! Dammit, I’m motivated, and I’m going to find it!”
My dear friend casually reached down and plucked a single clover nestled near his shoe. A single four-leaved clover. “You mean like this?”
Need I tell anyone what I was motivated to do at that moment? 
