Friends,

I have experienced the joy of victory on many election day nights. I have also felt the bitter sting of defeat. In the past I have won by a mile, won by a hair, lost by a fraction, and been completely plowed under!

There is truly a good thing to remember about losing one.

Losing stinks. It is depressing, you work very hard, you do all you can and then ... boom.. you lose.

Savor that feeling. Get to know it, but not to become at peace with it.

Savor that bitter and depressing feeling so you can recall it in the future. Stress and fret and run different scenarios through your mind of "what if I had only done this or that..."

I once ran for city council and lost to a 10 year incumbent, that usually vanquished her foes 3 to 1, by only 38 votes. Over the next few years, I wrote a book in my mind called "101 ways NOT to lose by 38 votes!"

Because the pain of losing, if you harness it, and remember it, can drive you to work harder and smarter in the future.

We often remember the things that hurt us more than the pleasures of life. I can remember falling off my bike when I was seven and injuring myself but I cannot remember the best ice cream from my childhood.

There is an old saying that I believe is true that goes "success breeds failure" meaning those that succeed often become complacent and start to make big mistakes.

I believe failure can breed success.

Take that pain and harness it for future battles.

You are all becoming more battle hardened and experienced.

Remember how it feels tonight and the next time we fight our foes, we will be hungry for a win and driven to avoid the feelings we have tonight.

W