Now in the classroom I was failing two classes. A history class and a psychology class were going down for the third count. Big fat F's all the way up and through mid-terms. There was no way I thought I could pass those courses. In fact, I'm sure my instructors had written me off already - "won't see him back."

I remember calling my mother on the phone, tears in my eyes, the whole shot. "Mom, I'm coming home. (sniff, sniff) I'm failing two classes and Mark Johnson keeps kicking my butt in the wrestling room."

I mean, I was truly as low as I could be. But what I learned from going through all that mess is with me today and I hope will be with me for the rest of my life. What I learned is that "yes" Steve Fraser can do anything he wants if he really wants it bad enough. Now the only solution I could think of was to get a tutor, which was tough enough for me to do. However, my options were limited, so I got a tutor. We started with square one and he basically taught me when to study, what to study, how to study properly and I'll tell you what...I don't think I ever had a comeback like this in the sport of wrestling. I went from complete failure in those two classes - F's on all my tests - to A's on my final exams. I mean, I was in total shock that I could make that dramatic a comeback. Needless to say, my teachers were in shock also.

Now back in the wrestling room (I will never forget this) I finally scored on Mark Johnson. I finally took him down. It was Friday...December 15th... 3:36 in the afternoon...arm drag...took him down. Two point takedown. I remember jumping up, "YEAH!" I was so excited. Now, he probably just slipped on some water or something on the mat, but my point here is not only is it easier for us to learn from our adversities, but what we learn from them has a much greater impact and stays with us a lot longer than what we sometimes learn from our successes.

Obviously, it is no fun to fail but failing can be good because if forces us to change, it forces us to reevaluate and to stretch and grow. I am totally convinced that because I overcame those obstacles, those setbacks, I achieved a much greater level of success than I would ever have been able to accomplish if I didn't have those experiences.

Throughout my life, I have found that the most successful people in the world make mistakes - they experience failure a lot. Tom Monaghan, owner of Domino's Pizza and the former owner of the Detroit Tigers baseball club is a perfect example of someone who has made many mistakes. He started bankrupt numerous times, he now does over $2.8 billion in sales annually. Monaghan's also an example of a man who has what I like to call that "laser vision." He's got that focus, that concentration on his goals that it takes to make his goals happen. He has no college education, but he's got focus and drive that is amazing.

So again, when it comes to making mistakes, when it comes to failing, I encourage all of us to look at these hurdles as positive things; as things that can help us get the true success that we may want further down the road. The more adversity we experience and overcome, the stronger we become. So pray hard...pray that God will bless you with all the most tough, grueling, agonizing problems he can find and you will be great!