According to Business Insider, Walt Disney was fired from the Kansas City Star because his editor felt he "lacked imagination and had no good ideas." Oprah Winfrey was fired from her first television anchor job because she became too "emotionally invested in her stories." Steven Spielberg faced multiple rejections from the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts. Colonel Harland David Sanders was fired "from dozens of jobs" and Thomas Edison's teachers told him he was "too stupid to learn anything." A personal favorite of mine, J.K. Rowling, was a single mom living off welfare when she began writing the first Harry Potter Novel. The list of failures goes on, but my favorite part of these life stories comes after the rejection. After the firing. After the insults. Walt Disney later became "the guy who redefined American childhood," Oprah Winfrey is now worth "three billion dollars according to Forbes," Steven Spielberg has "won three Academy Awards, 4 Emmys, 7 Daytime Emmys, and his 27 movies have grossed more than 9 billion." We all know who Colonel Sanders is, and his Kentucky Fried Chicken is a household favorite still today. While Thomas Edison needs no introduction, his record of success shames the voice that spoke the word "stupid" over him. J.K. Rowling, once living on welfare as a single mom, became the "first billionaire author in 2004." Reading over these stories, if you had to choose one word to summarize them, what would it be? The word that came to me is perseverance. Galatians 6:9 says "let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up," and while the road can be long and the mountains steep, the greatest and most inspiring stories aren't written from overnight success legends, but from the forward movement, persistence, and continuous effort of those who pursued greatness, but also knew how to fail.
We love the testimonies of those who have overcome insurmountable odds, those who have fought the hard battles and won the victory. I cry at the end of inspiring movies and I am invigorated to pursue my own excellence after hearing the stories of those who have gone before me. My heroes are the ones who have identified their greatest struggles and suited up for battle to contend with those specific demons of hell in the name of Jesus. The addict who fights for her life and wins is precious in my sight. I don't judge her for falling into that pit, I applaud her for the strength it took to claw her way out. The entrepreneur who started in poverty, but refused to settle. I spoke with a man recently who grew up in what he called "the ghetto" of Norristown, PA. He is now a successful business owner with multiple homes, multiple businesses, and plenty of financial security to leave behind for family. I admire the person who faces countless rejection and ridicule on the way to his dreams only to use it all as stepping stones that ascend to higher levels. I'm also at a place in my life where I've had to make the decision to cower under my hardships, fears, and insecurities, or rise to become my own hero, not just for myself but especially for my kids. As a now single mother, I've never had to fight so hard before and I've experienced one failure after another in recent years. I dropped out of seminary in 2016. My marriage ended in 2017. My career as a psychologist has taken several unexpected turns in just five months, all of which look like failures to the outside eye looking in. My writing has not yet produced the financial crop I've prayed it would, and the height of the mountains currently in front of me seems insurmountable, but here's what I know in this moment - failure is just the beginning if we refuse to give up. Hebrews 10:36 says that "you need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God you will receive what He has promised." Sometimes, we go to new places or begin new journeys not to succeed at all, but specifically to fail.
I sat in front of a race track not long ago in the East Falls area of Philadelphia where I asked God to show me His will. With tears running down my face and fear in my heart, I reflected over my previous two relocations leading up to that moment and I desperately didn't want to get it wrong this time. The word that came to me as I sat quietly listening for His voice was finish. When I looked up and saw people running the track, I was reminded of Hebrews 12:1-3 that says to "run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfector of our faith..." and 1 Corinthians 9:24 that says "Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize." I knew how coming back to California would look to those who watched me move to Indiana and then to Pennsylvania, but as I wrestled with my own concerns about other people's opinions, I recalled Galatians 1:10 that asks the question "are you seeking the approval of man or God?" It was in that moment, sitting by a racetrack that I decided to go for it. I decided to finish what I had started, even if it meant returning to California where I had made a complete mess of my life before leaving. Even if people judged me, which they have, and even if I got it wrong. Again. I knew in that moment in East Falls, Philadelphia, that every mistake, every wrong turn, and every failure I had encountered was all part of my valley of humiliation. My valley of mistakes. My valley of failure. And it was all going to be okay.
On the other side of each failure I mentioned above is this - after dropping out of seminary in 2016, I was able to graduate with a doctoral degree in applied clinical psychology. After my marriage ended in 2017, my now ex-husband and I have become the best of friends with an openness to the idea of possible future reconciliation. My career as a psychologist is finally leveling out as I pursue the right paths, and my writing hasn't produced a single dime, but it has touched the hearts of many. So have I failed or succeeded? Or both? The Bible says that "many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails," (Proverbs 19:21) and James 4:6 says God "gives grace and favor to the humble." Failure can be a beautiful thing when it brings you to your knees in humble submission to God's ways and plan and timing. 1 Peter 5:6 says to "humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God that He may exalt you in due time," and although I don't have all the answers to my life's future, I do know this - God is always good (Psalm 34:8) and it's okay to fail.
We love the testimonies of those who have overcome insurmountable odds, those who have fought the hard battles and won the victory. I cry at the end of inspiring movies and I am invigorated to pursue my own excellence after hearing the stories of those who have gone before me. My heroes are the ones who have identified their greatest struggles and suited up for battle to contend with those specific demons of hell in the name of Jesus. The addict who fights for her life and wins is precious in my sight. I don't judge her for falling into that pit, I applaud her for the strength it took to claw her way out. The entrepreneur who started in poverty, but refused to settle. I spoke with a man recently who grew up in what he called "the ghetto" of Norristown, PA. He is now a successful business owner with multiple homes, multiple businesses, and plenty of financial security to leave behind for family. I admire the person who faces countless rejection and ridicule on the way to his dreams only to use it all as stepping stones that ascend to higher levels. I'm also at a place in my life where I've had to make the decision to cower under my hardships, fears, and insecurities, or rise to become my own hero, not just for myself but especially for my kids. As a now single mother, I've never had to fight so hard before and I've experienced one failure after another in recent years. I dropped out of seminary in 2016. My marriage ended in 2017. My career as a psychologist has taken several unexpected turns in just five months, all of which look like failures to the outside eye looking in. My writing has not yet produced the financial crop I've prayed it would, and the height of the mountains currently in front of me seems insurmountable, but here's what I know in this moment - failure is just the beginning if we refuse to give up. Hebrews 10:36 says that "you need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God you will receive what He has promised." Sometimes, we go to new places or begin new journeys not to succeed at all, but specifically to fail.
I sat in front of a race track not long ago in the East Falls area of Philadelphia where I asked God to show me His will. With tears running down my face and fear in my heart, I reflected over my previous two relocations leading up to that moment and I desperately didn't want to get it wrong this time. The word that came to me as I sat quietly listening for His voice was finish. When I looked up and saw people running the track, I was reminded of Hebrews 12:1-3 that says to "run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfector of our faith..." and 1 Corinthians 9:24 that says "Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize." I knew how coming back to California would look to those who watched me move to Indiana and then to Pennsylvania, but as I wrestled with my own concerns about other people's opinions, I recalled Galatians 1:10 that asks the question "are you seeking the approval of man or God?" It was in that moment, sitting by a racetrack that I decided to go for it. I decided to finish what I had started, even if it meant returning to California where I had made a complete mess of my life before leaving. Even if people judged me, which they have, and even if I got it wrong. Again. I knew in that moment in East Falls, Philadelphia, that every mistake, every wrong turn, and every failure I had encountered was all part of my valley of humiliation. My valley of mistakes. My valley of failure. And it was all going to be okay.
On the other side of each failure I mentioned above is this - after dropping out of seminary in 2016, I was able to graduate with a doctoral degree in applied clinical psychology. After my marriage ended in 2017, my now ex-husband and I have become the best of friends with an openness to the idea of possible future reconciliation. My career as a psychologist is finally leveling out as I pursue the right paths, and my writing hasn't produced a single dime, but it has touched the hearts of many. So have I failed or succeeded? Or both? The Bible says that "many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails," (Proverbs 19:21) and James 4:6 says God "gives grace and favor to the humble." Failure can be a beautiful thing when it brings you to your knees in humble submission to God's ways and plan and timing. 1 Peter 5:6 says to "humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God that He may exalt you in due time," and although I don't have all the answers to my life's future, I do know this - God is always good (Psalm 34:8) and it's okay to fail.
“It is better to make a thousand failures than to be too cowardly to ever undertake anything.” Clovis G. Chappell
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| https://hannondigital.com/2015/11/05/digital-media-marketing-how-cisco-turned-defeat-into-success/ |
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