FAILURE BACK DOOR TO SUCCESS

We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair (2 Corinthians 4:8, NKJV)

Walt Disney went broke seven times and had a nervous breakdown before he became successful. At age 40 Henry Ford was broke. Enrico Caruso, who became one of the world's greatest tenors, was advised by his voice teacher to quit singing because he failed so many times to carry his high notes. Thomas Edison failed more than 6,000 times before he could get an electric light bulb to work, one of his teachers once called him a dunce. Abraham Lincoln was well known for his many failures but became one of America's most beloved presidents. And Albert Einstein and Werner von Braun both flunked courses in mathematics. History is filled with similar stories.

Failure is not a dead end street.  It may well be your stepping stone to something better, greater and wonderful.  Don’t despair

Persistence Pays

I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.(1 Corinthians 9:27, NLT)

John Maxwell in one of his books points out that persistent effort is one of the most important ingredients for personal success. Napoleon Hill, author of Think and Grow Rich, studied the lives of more than 500 successful people in America and knew many of them personally. He discovered that the one indispensable ingredient common to all of them was persistence. These individuals kept trying even after repeated failures. It almost seems that great success is won only by people who overcome incredible obstacles and great discouragement. Out of Hill’s study comes this important truth: Success is achieved and maintained by those who keep trying. – Persistence pays.

Have you been discouraged and tempted to quit? Keep going – victory is in sight. We are on the victory side.

Slow Starters

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11, NIV)

Did you have a bad start in life?

Winston Churchill seemed so dull as a youth that his father thought he might be incapable of earning a living in England.

G.K. Chesterson, the English writer, could not read until he was eight. One of his teachers told him, "If we could open your head we should not find any brain
but only a lump of white fat."

Thomas Edison's first teacher described him as "addled," and his father almost convinced him he was a "dunce."

Albert Einstein's parents feared their child was dull, and he performed so badly in all high school courses except mathematics that a teacher asked him to drop out."

Don’t despair. God still has great plans for you and your life.

Lessons from Losses

Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow." (James 1:2-4, NLT)

During the Great Depression, Wallace Johnson, a dynamic Christian, was fired from his job at a saw mill. To Wallace and his wife this was a devastating loss. So what did Wallace do? He mortgaged his house and went into the building business. Within five years he was a multi-millionaire and was the founder of Holiday Inn.

Wallace said, "If I could locate the man who fired me I would sincerely thank him for what he did. At the time it happened, I didn't understand why I was fired. Later I saw that it was God's unerring and wondrous plan to get me into the ways of his choosing."

God has a way of turning our disappointments into His appointment. He can bring blessing out of the most dismal situations.

From the book, DAY LIGHTERS by Nico Bougas available from Amazon.com