Where there is a will, there is a way. If there is a chance in a million that you can do something, anything,... — Pauline Kael

Where there is a will, there is a way. If there is a chance in a million that you can do something, anything, to keep what you want from ending, do it. Pry the door open or, if need be, wedge your foot in that door and keep it open.

Author: Pauline Kael

Insight: There's a scrappy, almost stubborn wisdom here that cuts against the grain of modern productivity advice. We're often told to accept what we can't control, to know when to let go. But Kael is arguing for something fiercer: that determination itself is a kind of power, and that most of us give up far earlier than necessity demands. When you want something badly enough—a relationship, a dream, a second chance—there's usually more you could try before admitting defeat. The real insight isn't that effort guarantees success. It's that we tend to overestimate how much effort we've actually invested before throwing in the towel. We try once, get rejected, and assume the door is locked. What Kael is describing is the willingness to look foolish, to wedge your foot in repeatedly, to be the person who asks one more time. That's uncomfortable. It requires accepting that you might seem desperate or annoying. But plenty of people get what they want not because they're special, but because they were willing to be uncomfortable longer than others. The trick is knowing which doors are actually worth holding open—some genuinely need closing. But most of us know which ones those are. For everything else, we're usually just tired earlier than we should be.