I wish I could tell you that you will never fail. I wish I could say that your path to success is laced with gold medals. But that would be a misrepresentation of what life demands of us.
Napoleon Hill once said "When defeat comes, accept it as a signal that your plans are not sound, rebuild those plans, and set sail once more toward your coveted goal."
No one is exempt from failure. Politicians are used to it though they deny it half the time. Pastors also fail. There are times when they preach sermons that are not as exciting to their audiences. Marriages fail too. We cannot even mention how many businesses fail.
Yet I believe with all my heart that failure is a gift from God that opens up opportunities which success would not open. How we interpret failure determines our transition to new levels of wealth, peace, happiness and providence.
The great Lao-Tzu said, "People in their handlings of affairs often fail when they are about to succeed. If one remains as careful at the end as he was at the beginning, there will be no failure."
Do not be discouraged by failure. It may be the best thing that can happen to you. I suggest the following five steps on how to turn your failure into success.
STEP # 1: EMBRACE FAILURE
It is wrong to run away from something that has followed you. You must ask it questions such as, "What tidings do you bring me? What have you come to do?" The greatest mistake a lot of us make is called denial. We deny our circumstances. In retrospect, what we actually say to our minds is, "Why me? I don't deserve to be here. I know I should have passed that exam. After all I studied hard." You could have studied but maybe you studied the wrong material.
STEP # 2: APPRECIATE YOUR FAILURE LESSONS
Robert Kennedy said, "There are people who ask "Why". Then there are those who ask, "Why not?" If you critically asses your life experiences, would you say that your deepest and most fulfilling lessons have been from your successes? Or did they emanate from your failures? In reality, God seems to have our total attention in failure more than in success. I encourage you to learn from your failure. Stop asking why. Ask why not?
STEP # 3: BELIEVE THAT YOU CAN RISE AGAIN
When The Titanic sunk people vowed never to set sail on cruise ships. Well bigger, better and safer ships have been built since and people are cruising their way to pleasure. World wars have come and gone and cities where almost wiped out. Yet today those cities have been rebuilt. Tables do turn my friend. I believe that a decisive, determined and focused human being can only be down for so long. Eventually, you must rise.
STEP # 4: STRENGTHEN YOUR STAMINA
The worst mistake a lot of people make is that they get paralyzed by failure and they stop thinking. They basically drown in peril and wallow in self pity. I am sorry my friend that you have failed. But now is not the time to stop or to give up. By stopping now you risk being run over by more failure. In failure, there is no rest. Rest is to be enjoyed in success. Strengthen your stamina and take on your next challenge.
STEP # 5: DO IT BIGGER AND BETTER THIS TIME
Now that you have embraced failure, you have got the lesson, and you have risen and are much stronger, I say go back and do it again. Except this time, do it bigger and better. As Marian Williamson said, "Our greatest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our greatest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure." Arise and do it again. Do it even bigger and better. The more you dare the wiser you become. We must not shrink in the face of failure. We must shine. It is only as we shine that we alter our consciousness to the greatest breakthrough that God may have for us.
In failure, there is light. There is light in the souls of those who refuse to quit. If I told you how many times I have failed, I would not even be writing to you today. What I have done and continue to do is to build my life on bricks called failure. Yes I cry sometimes. Yes I wish I were not in some places sometimes. Yes I have failed more times than I have succeeded.
May God help you my friend. Failure is not the end of your road. Turn it into success by following the five steps. Use every block and brick that life deals you. After all, Romans says "All things work together for the good of your life."
I am still the failure who became successful. Thank you for reading.
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