Success Or Failure: There Is No Such Thing As Failure

There is no such thing as failure – only feedback – we can learn from our failures. Do not let apparent failures beat you up, learn from them. As humans, we tend to be harder on ourselves than others are. A small child learning to walk never fails to get up and try and try and try until success is achieved. It is the same in life; every failure is a step closer to success.

Emotions are notoriously fickle: to let your emotions be your rule of success or failure is asking for trouble. Do not listen to your heart only as this is dangerous; you need to have advisors who are able to help direct you. No one succeeds alone; there is always a strong team behind any success.

Your inner circle: Many successful men and women throughout history [such as King David] and up to the present day have a trusted inner-circle of friends and advisors. Choose this inner-circle with great care and wisdom.

Choice: It is all down to choice. That is your attitude toward failure and success. Many of those who succeed have a track record littered with what we would call failures. They chose to learn from these and move toward their goal. The last of the human freedoms is to choose your attitude in whatever circumstance you may find yourself. Whatever life throws at you - may it be good or bad - do you use it to glorify God?

Ensue or pursuit? The more you aim for something the more likely you are to miss it. Put quite simply success must happen. This is why the successful entrepreneur makes it look easy – they just let it happen. Do not care for success so much as following Christian principles, working toward the future and eventually success will be there with you – precisely because you forgot to aim for it. [Keep your eyes always on the Lord and put Him first in everything].

Get rich quick schemes: are not a recipe for success. These schemes usually do not deliver what they promise; at best they are a lie. To get success slowly is a much more stable road to tread.

1. Emotion: We are emotional creatures and as in all things avoid excess. Keep your eyes on the Lord your God.

2. Do not hurry. Do not react to a “situation” whilst emotional. Try to 'sleep on it' for a day or two. A situation that we feel needs to be settled immediately – quite often does not - usually. It can wait. Know your bible by constant reading - do not resort to trying to find wisdom by opening your bible in times of crisis and hoping the wisdom will leap of the page. The power of the bible comes with familiarity.

3. Set goals. We need something to look forward too. Pray on this as we can only truly succeed when we pray.

4. Trust: we are not islands; we must trust others. The secret is in choosing one's inner circle wisely.

5. Let your hurts go and hand them over to God through Jesus Christ: it is just easier that way.

6. Seek wise council. Never listen to you heart only when making an important decision. This is allowing emotions to rule your life and it is dangerous as your focus will slip away from God.

7. Network with others. The secret to success is always who you know.

8. The more pressure you are under the slower you must go.

9. Expect and embrace change as it brings success.

10. Develop a thick skin in life but don’t become hard - remember we receive God's grace and we should extend grace to one another.

11. Live every day to its full potential – this does not mean be as busy as possible – think about it. There are times to do nothing. Jesus often retreated to pray and be alone with God.

12. Do not blame others for your calamities [do not whine - it is not attractive].

13. Live your own life and share it. Do not depend on others to live your life.

14. Find a soul mate with whom you can share your thoughts and to whom you can be accountable.

15. Look at yourself first and do not be critical of others.

16. There is more to life than highs and lows. Don’t live life according to the next peak or the next valley. The small things in life are wonderful gifts too.

17. Respect yourself but be not proud. No one loves the self seeking and proud.

18. Look inward for happiness and then share it with others.

19. Do not allow miserable feelings into your heart – take time to count your blessings.

20. Truly you place your own limitation – and remember one person's weakness is another’s strength.

About the author
Bethel is a community initiative – putting others first that we may all benefit. http://www.tunaweza.com is using tourism to fund the community projects. Our primary focus is education of our young children and family health in Kenya and Tanzania.