“As kids we’re not taught how to deal with success; we’re taught how to deal with failure. If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. If at first you succeed, then what?”

I know. You’re probably in one of two camps over the whole Charlie Sheen situation on Twitter.

On the one hand, you might be a big fan of his new brand of comedy, getting big laughs out of his tiger blood and Adonis DNA. On the other hand, you might already be fed up with the media circus that’s surrounding the newly out-of-work actor. Whatever the case, the quote above is something that can make you wonder.

It’s true. We spend so much time trying to figure out the recipe for success. We spend so much time learning ways to overcome failure, get past that next big hump, and move closer to the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. And then, we get there… and we’re not sure what to do with ourselves. What if you really do succeed on your first shot?

No, I’m not saying at all that Charlie Sheen is “winning” at life right now. I’m not saying that he was able to achieve monumental success on his first attempt. Even if he did, people would say that’s a good problem to have: wouldn’t it be great if you could always be winning? Wouldn’t it be great if you never had to deal with failure at all?

We hear all the time about people who are sore losers, but it’s maybe even easier to be a sore winner. How do you deal with success? This is a common problem with child stars, for example, who were never able to lead normal childhoods. They don’t know how to deal with the fame and fortune, so when that is taken away, they’re at a loss.

And that’s not exactly winning, now is it?