Fail Forward

This week someone told me to get over a small disappointment and fail forward, meaning, I think, to pick myself up and get going again. Yes, indeed. Failure is part of life, but it is painful!

Take a look at these fine folks and tell yourself that you are in good company!

Abraham Lincoln failed to be elected as a land officer, a U.S. senator, the vice president, and again the U.S. Senate. YET… kept trying and against all odds, became president of the United States.

Louisa May Alcott wrote out of necessity. Her family was desperately poor, and her education was sketchy. She even did laundry and taught school to help support the family. She declared many of her most popular works to be emotional pap! And yet…

Winston Churchill was a poor student but excelled in sports. Some of his war campaigns were huge mistakes. For example, his World War I attack against Turkey, and the World War II defense of Norway. And yet, we remember other huge victories during World War II.

And then there is Walt Disney. We hear the name Disney now and we think success and Mickey Mouse. Most of us don’t know that Walt’s background included bankruptcy, a mental breakdown, a strike, and even loss of control over some of his cartoon creations.

Harry Potter creator, J. K Rowling submitted her Harry Potter work twelve times before it was accepted. At one point, this single mom had no job, lived on welfare, and thought of suicide.

And yet—-every one of these failures kept on following their passion and saw the results of perseverance. Will you do any less?

“Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.” Winston S. Churchill

And for those of you who knock us when we are down!

“Don’t pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults—unless, of course, you want the same treatment. Don’t condemn those who are down; that hardness can boomerang. Be easy on people; you’ll find life a lot easier. (Luke 6:37-38)