Failure, A Mark Of Success

Are you awash in a morass of failure? Does everything you try seem to turn to dust? Does every new venture end up a money pit? Does every new relationship end as a heart breaker? Does every new opportunity evaporate into thin air?

Not Alone!

You fail a lot? Welcome to the club. You are not alone. In fact, you are some very good company. Almost without exception, those that have achieved the most, and are considered to be very successful, have also failed miserably. Consider these historical examples:

Failure Examples?

• Jesus Christ seemed to be an utter failure when He died at about 33 years of age.

• The Wright brothers crashed numerous flight tests before they got one to fly only about 30 feet.

• Winston Churchill failed the sixth grade and was defeated in every public office role he ran for.

• Thomas Edison’s teachers told him he was “too stupid to learn anything.”

• Harland David Sanders, the famous KFC “Colonel,” couldn’t sell his chicken and more than 1,000 restaurants rejected him.

• Steven Spielberg was rejected from his dream school, the University of Southern California, three times.

• Walt Disney was fired by a newspaper editor because he “lacked imagination and had no good ideas.”

• Albert Einstein didn’t speak until age four and didn’t read until age seven. His teachers labeled him “slow” and “mentally handicapped.”

• Vincent Van Gogh only sold one painting in his entire life, to a friend.

• J.K. Rowling was unemployed, divorced and raising a daughter on social security while writing the first Harry Potter novel.

• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was dismissed from a position as a court musician in Salzburg and died with little to his name.

• Ludwig van Beethoven was incredibly awkward on the violin, and his teachers felt he was hopeless at composition and would never succeed with the violin or in composing.

Where is God?

You may ask, “Where is God in all my failure?” My answer; He’s right there with you. Here are several lessons to take to heart from these examples of failure:

If you’ve never failed, maybe you haven’t really taken any real risks either. Maybe you haven’t tackled any really challenging scenarios. If you try for “safe” at all times, there won’t be much chance of failure; there won’t be much chance of outstanding success either.

Take Heart!

If you are in the midst of failure, take heart. Your best achievement yet may be your next attempt. If you’ve failed repeatedly, you are probably continuing to take calculated risks (be sure they are calculated and not emotional or foolhardy) and can probably point to numerous successes also. Success and failure work hand-in-hand.

Statistics indicate professional salespeople will fail to make a sale better than 80% of the time, but they view these failures as steps toward success.

Use Failure To Grow

If your failures point out personal inadequacies or weaknesses, examine them to see how you could strengthen these areas so you don’t make the same mistake again. Use failure as an opportunity for growth and personal development.

If your failures cause loss of self-esteem, embarrassment and humiliation, you need to ask yourself, “Does my sense of worth come from who I am or from what I do?” Initial feelings of this nature are normal, but if you tie worth to work, remind yourself of how Christ sees you, how He died for you, and how He is invested in your growth.

Begin to look at failure from a different perspective. One that responds to friends’ inquiries of, “How’s it going?” when you have just encountered another resounding failure with, “It’s going great. I’ve just eliminated another possibility en route to a successful outcome.”

Instruction From Scripture

• Proverbs 24:16 “for though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again…”

• Psalm 35:15 “But when I stumbled, they gathered in glee; assailants gathered against me without my knowledge.”

• Isaiah 40:30 “Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall;”

• Daniel 11:35 “Some of the wise will stumble, so that they may be refined, purified and made spotless”

• James 3:2 “We all stumble in many ways.”

• Psalms 40:2-3 “I waited patiently for the Lord,…He lifted me out of the slimy pit…”

• Jeremiah 8:4-5 “Say to them, ‘This is what the LORD says: “‘When people fall down, do they not get up?

• Job 4:4 “Your words have supported those who stumbled; you have strengthened faltering knees.”

• Psalms 145:14 “The LORD upholds all who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down.”

Just a few of the noteworthy biblical heroes that were examples of failure include:

David’s failure with Bathsheba.

Joseph’s failure and his brothers resulting actions.

Moses’s failure when he killed the Egyptian.

Peter’s failure when he denied Christ.

Failure Is Good!

Bottom line, failure is good for you. Failure provides many benefits. Failure keeps you humble. Failure enables others to identify with you. Failure prepares you to minister to others. Failure shows you are taking risks. Failure helps you understand anything of value is really accomplished through the Lord and is the result of His blessing.

So, keep on failing, knowing you are eliminating possibilities en route to success. Here’s a toast to failure! May God bring you much failure, and through it bless all those around you.

About the Author:
BILL HIGGINS is currently the Managing Director of MindWare Incorporated, an independent training and career coaching consulting firm. He previously served on the pastoral staff of churches in the U.S. and Canada, and worked in a managerial capacity for industry leading organizations.

Bill is a graduate of Biola University and Talbot Theological Seminary and his book; Your Road to Damascus: 6 Biblical Secrets for an Effective Job Search is now available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and MindWare Publishing websites.