One must definitely be in this mindset to be successful in life. People who have "learned helplessness" have been trained to have a negative outlook in life. They think that what happens to them is not under their control, which means their locus of control is external.

For instance, they get drunk, light a cigarette, and fall asleep. Their house burns down and they blame bad luck - not their bad choices. I wrote an article about it a few days ago.

Great post, more people need to grow.