It’s true
that success doesn’t usually fall in our laps, so to speak. We have to work hard for it—perhaps for
decades; perhaps for most of our lives. The good news is that success is the flip
side of failure. We cannot have one without the other.
We cannot be
successful at anything unless we have first “failed” at that activity. This preparation for success (Please note
that I didn’t use the word “failure” again) may take any of the following forms:
endless practicing, botched rehearsals, imperfectly written manuscripts, or
inventions that didn’t work.
On the other
hand, are any of these setbacks permanent? Not always—unless we allow it. If a certain situation isn’t permanent, shouldn’t
we work to change it instead of letting it cloud our vision?
I’ve often
heard it said that practice makes perfect. The word “practice”, itself, can be
described as repeating a certain imperfect activity until it is as perfect as
we can make it. Since that is true, can’t it be said that we never stop practicing, since we never
reach perfection?
I have two
examples of how I’ve seen some success by practicing: I didn’t begin as a piano
player by playing church hymns as a child. (I’m not Mozart.) Also, I have spent
months editing my book and preparing the second edition for publication.
What do Famous People Have to say
About Success?
Zig Ziglar, motivational speaker and author, said
that it requires preparation; it
doesn’t just happen.
Estee
Lauder, skin
care and cosmetic giant, said that accomplishment is about hard work, not dreams.
Sir Winston Churchill,
Prime
Minister of Great Britain during World War II, said that failure isn’t
permanent and that we must have the courage
to push beyond it. In fact, his is most famously quoted as saying that we
should never give up--soon after London had been bombed.
My Conclusion
Success doesn’t usually fall conveniently into our laps; far from it! It
takes preparation, hard work, and courage. My reasearch of the lives of victorious
individuals lead to this conclusion: all
steps backward in perceived defeat create opportunities to move forward in a
more effective direction. Yet, we must be strong (and wise) enough to push
forward. In the end, we can’t borrow strength from anybody else; it has to come
from deep within.
How have you moved forward through setbacks?
