This image speaks to me about failure. Maybe it is because of those days when I loved to play Minesweeper. Or maybe it is because I resonate with failing even when I have given my all and worked harder than I ever have. Sometimes failure is simply is not a failing. Sometimes we have to fail, and fail hard, to re-imagine what success looks like. Here are a few folks who seemed to know something about failure.
I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." -Thomas Alva Edison
“There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.” - Colin Powell
"A man can fail many times, but he isn't a failure until he begins to blame somebody else." - John Burroughs
"A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable but more useful than a life spent in doing nothing." - George Bernard Shaw
"The greatest barrier to success is the fear of failure." - Sven Goran Eriksson
"My imperfections and failures are as much a blessing from God as my successes and my talents and I lay them both at his feet." - Mahatma Gandhi
"I didn't fail the test, I just found 100 ways to do it wrong." - Ben Franklin
"Failure is a detour, not a dead-end street." - Zig Ziglar
Great quotes and great thoughts. In keeping with the spirit of those thoughts, failure is only failure if viewed as failure, rather than as a stepping stone to future success.
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ReplyDeleteI love what John Burroughs said because it is the true center of failure. How can anyone succeed who refuses to take responsibility for himself. By the way, Adam was the first failure, note his reply to God:
Genesis 3:8-12 (NLT)
8 When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the Lord God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the Lord God among the trees.
9 Then the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”
10 He replied, “I heard you walking in the garden, so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked.”
11 “Who told you that you were naked?” the Lord God asked. “Have you eaten from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat?”
12 The man replied, “It was the woman you gave me who gave me the fruit, and I ate it.”
:) I remember my Minesweeper days and I can definitely identify with the image. I do have a fear of failure and the reality is that is hard to take life like those quotes but it does make life a little less scary. And most important is trust in our loving God though it is still easier said than done.
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