One of the best read Christian books is In His Steps by Charles M. Sheldon. Written in 1896, it may have earned less money for the author than any other bestseller in history. The book was first published by a Christian weekly magazine. The magazine’s publisher failed to meet copyright regulations, so Sheldon lost legal ownership of the book. Scores of publishers then sold millions of copies, and the author couldn’t claim any roalties.
Forty years after Charles Sheldon “lost” his book, he said, “I am very thankful that owing to the defective copyright, the book has had a larger reading on account of the great number of publishers.”
We must see failure through God’s eyes. Perhaps He has something in sight that we do not. It may be that a closed door for you is an open door for something or someone else. We need to stop belly-aching over the failure and get back in the game.
Tags: disappointment, failure, trials, trouble
Inventive genius Thomas Edison lost his great New Jersey laboratories in an inferno-like fire on a December night in 1914. Yet the very next morning, walking among the still smoldering ashes of those buildings that had housed so many of his projects, Edison, then 67, said, “There is great value in disaster. All our mistakes are burned up. Thank God, we can start anew.”
James 4:14 reminds us: “You do not know what will happen tomorrow.” Turn your disasters into a fresh start.
Tags: Edison, failure, overcomer, trials, trouble
A state Governor was asked to give the nomination speech for Michael S. Dukakis at the 1988 Democratic Convention. The speech went on and on. By the time it was over, the Governor knew he’d bombed. After all, the audience was chanting, “Get off, get off.”
“Had I been him,” said advisor Samuel Berger, “I would have dug the deepenst hole and buried myself in it.” Instead, the Governor marched straight into the press room to face a barrage of embarrassing questions. When Johny Carson invited him on the ‘Tonight’ Show, the Governor went, letting Carson poke fun at him. “Instead of running away from the problem,” noted Berger, “he faced it”.
How we deal with failure reveals what we’re really made of. Governor Bill Clinton faced his failure, and pressed through to his own success as President of the United States. Diffuse your own Bombs before they kill you.
Tags: Clinton, failure, overcomer, recovery, trials, trouble
I’m sure you would agree with me that Macy’s Department Stores are a great success. But did you know that the founder, R. H. Macy, failed at five different professions before he finally succeeded? Mr. Macy tried his hand as a whaler, retail clerk, gold-miner, stockbroker, and real estate broker, and failed at each of these professions. Like Thomas Edison trying to discover what filament burned brightest and longest in a light bulb, Mr. Macy failed his way to success.
What sustained Mr. Macy through failure after failure? Two things: purpose and persistence. That’s what separates those who achieve from those who merely dream!
Find someone who you consider successful and ask them how they got there. I’m sure you’ll find an interesting journey of failures along the way. That’s the way God keeps us humble when we’re finally blessed.
Tags: failure, persistence, success, trouble
It was a fog-shrouded morning, July 4, 1952, when a young woman named Florence Chadwick waded into the water off Catalina Island. She intended to swim the channel from the island to the California coast. Long-distance swimming was not new to her; she had been the first woman to swim the English Channel in both directions.
The water was numbing cold that day. The fog was so think she could hardly see the boats in her party. Several times sharks had to be driven away with rifle fire. She swam more than 15 hours before she asked to be taken out of the water. Her trainer tried to encourage her to swim on since they were so close to land, but when Florence looked, all she saw was fog. So she quit…only one-half mile from her goal
Later she said, “I’m not excusing myself, but if I could have seen the land I might have made it.” It wasn’t the cold or fear or exhaustion that caused Florence Chadwick to fail. It was losing sight of the goal.
Maybe that’s why Paul said, “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14).
Tags: close, failure, goal, swim, vision
“Far too noisy, my dear Mozart. Far too many notes” (The Emperor Ferdinand after the first performance of The Marriage of Figaro).
“If Beethoven’s Seventh Symphany is not by some means abridged, it will soon fall into disuse” (Philip Hale, Boston music critic, 1837).
“Rembrandt is not be be compared in the painting of character with our extraordinarily gifted English artist Mr. Rippingille” (John Hunt (1775-1848)).
“Flight by machines heavier than air is unpractical and insignificant…utterlyimpossible” (Simon Newcomb (1835-1909)).
“We don’t like their sound. Groups of guitars are on their way out” (Decca Recording Company when turning down the Beatles in 1962).
“You will never amount to very much” (A Munich schoolmaster to Albert Einstein, aged 10).
And on and on it goes. The only thing we can be thankful for when it comes to blowing it is that nobody keeps a record of ours. Or do they? Or do we with others?
Tags: encouragement, failure
In the latter 1800’s Alex was very concerned about his wife’s problem with her hearing, so he set about to invent a hearing aid. After many months on the design of the hearing aid, it all came to no avail. He had failed and never did produce such a device. However, out of his efforts, Alex discovered the principles of the telephone. A year later, the first sentence was transmitted over his new “talking machine”.
Few people realize that what Alexander Graham Bell invented was not his original intent, but was an accident. His failure had become an unexpected success. He did not allow his failure to discourage him, but simply shifted gears and worked tirelessly to perfect an instrument that has revolutionized communication. The whole world benefits from Alex’s accident and that he refused to give up!
Ecclesiates 9:10a says, “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might.” Let’s not be discouraged by failure, but expect God to lead every disappointment into a newly discovered success.
What have you accomplished or discovered “by accident”?
Tags: accident, failure, telephone