A true story of how a Teen Girl’s resilience, persistence and determination at a Claw Machine inspired me.

A couple of weeks ago, my wife, daughter, and I took a trip to Hengqin — a Chinese city right next to Macau. It was just a day-trip and we were there mostly to explore and do a bit of shopping. While wandering around one of the malls, we stumbled upon a claw machine arcade. My daughter absolutely loves those things. There's something so exciting for her about dropping in a coin and trying to snag a plush toy with the claw. And when she actually manages to grab one? I can only describe that moment of victory as just pure joy and exhilaration for her and as parents who only want the best for our child, seeing our daughter so happy is just priceless for us.

So, we bought a handful of tokens and gave a few of the machines a shot. We even tried to be strategic, studying how the dolls were stacked and picking the ones that looked like they’d be easier to grab. But despite all our analysing and careful choices, luck (and maybe skill) just wasn’t on our side. After trying around seven or eight different machines, we were still empty-handed.

That's when I noticed this girl...

Probably around 17 or 19, walking around the arcade with a laundry basket full of plush toys she’d already won. In one hand, she had this small container packed with tokens (yep, a whole container!). She moved from machine to machine, quietly studying how the dolls were arranged, she seemed to be looking for something specific—a pattern or setup that told her the odds were in her favour. After observing a machine for a bit, she’d pop in a token and give it a go.

And here’s where the real lesson hit me - she didn’t win every time. In fact, she failed a lot more than she won! But not once did she show the slightest bit of frustration. No sighs, no eye rolls - nothing. She’d just move on to the next machine like it was no big deal. And when she did win, which she clearly did a lot, judging by that overflowing basket - she didn’t celebrate or make a scene. No grin, no fist pump. She’d calmly drop the prize into her basket and move on like she was on a mission.

Failure did not stop her ...

What really impressed me wasn’t her skill with the claw machines - it was her mindset. The lesson wasn’t in her technique; it was in her calm, steady approach, it was the quiet resilience she showed throughout the process. It was the way she did not let failure stop her. I watched her as she went from machine to machine and sometimes she'd fail at three consecutive machines but even though she faced setback after setback, she still played on.

The secret to her success ...

She didn’t let any of the losses get to her. No frustration, no self-pity, no drama. If a machine didn’t work out, she simply walked away and move on to the next one. She’d pause, study the layout, and if she saw even a small chance, she’d drop in a token and try again. It didn’t matter whether she won or lost - her focus, her calm, and her steady determination never wavered. And that was the secret to her success - never giving up.

This arcade, on this trip, would be the last place on earth where I thought I would be reminded of the power of resilience, the power of persistence and the importance of mindset - but this girl in front of me, working her way to more plush toys at the claw machine, just showed me that you can learn anything anywhere.

The mindset she had... made the difference

The attitude of this girl, right there in the middle of a noisy arcade, felt like a small but meaningful metaphor for life.

The mindset that she carried - a mindset of growth, persistence and determination - is exactly the mindset that we should have in life.

What I saw, made me reflect on how often we let a few setbacks throw us off course. How easy it is to get discouraged when things don’t go our way right away. But maybe the real key to progress - whether it’s in our careers, our goals, or just everyday life—is to keep showing up. To keep dropping the token in, even when the last few tries didn’t go our way.

If this girl had given up after one or two losses, she would never have gotten the next toy and would have never filled her basket. She was always just a token or two away from her next plush toy, and she knew it, she believed in herself. Her belief in herself can be seen in the basket of tokens that she bought right from the beginning, she always knew that she was going to win but she needed to be resilient and play the long game.

The Lesson

The lesson here is that We ourselves could also just be a token or two away from success in anything that we are doing. Many times, it’s just the quiet discipline of moving forward, of persistence and resilience - of believing in yourself - whether you’re winning or losing - that makes the difference. More often than not we give up too early.

And just like that, a shopping trip to a small island in china became a lesson and an important reminder to me on the importance of resilience, determination and belief in oneself.

My friends, remember to keep pushing and to keep believing in yourselves - if we can do that—if we can keep showing up with self-belief, patience, focus, and a willingness to try, try and try again - eventually, we’ll fill our own basket too.