The Gift of Failure

     I recently finished a wonderful little book by Jon Gordon entitled "The Carpenter". This inspirational story is centered on how a carpenter helps a man's failing business turn things around. This book was filled with so many takeaways to "build" and develop skills that will allow us to be successful in the workplace, business, and in life. Nice read, I highly recommend it to all.
     One of the takeaways I collected was in a chapter of the book where the main character, Michael, attempts to implement one of the strategies the carpenter had shared with him and it flopped. Frustrated and discouraged, Michael goes to the carpenter to share his disappointment at the failure he was experiencing. The carpenter's response is the focus of today's Flat Tire Ministries thought for this week.
     Gordon's character the carpenter, who if you haven't guessed is symbolically representative of Jesus the carpenter from Nazareth, likens failure to a gift in this mentoring lesson with the businessman Michael. I'd like to share the following excerpt from their discussion which explains how we need to address failures in our own lives. "failure often serves as a defining moment, a crossroads on the journey of your life. It gives you a test designed to measure your courage, perseverance, commitment, and dedication. Are you a pretender who gives up after a little adversity or a contender who keeps getting up after getting knocked down?" You see life is filled with "failures", but how we approach them is what truly helps us become who or what we are intended to become in life.
     I often times use the example of a baby who is just learning to walk to explain how we need to face failure. It is almost guaranteed that when that little toddler takes her first step she is going to plop right down on the floor, more than likely right on her little Pampers bottom. That is failure, the little baby wanted to walk across the room to her mommy or daddy, but instead the whole thing flopped. Disaster? No just a learning tool that enables this little toddler to learn from that first misstep and then pull herself up and equipped with a new piece of experience try the whole thing again. As I look around I do not see too many adults crawling around the streets on their way to work or play so I'm guessing the lessons learned from our early failures in walking 101 didn't stop us from learning how to walk. Life's failures have to be handled with that same type of resiliency, we have to look at failure as a necessary and important part of the learning process instead of a defeat that we will not recover from or a scar that will impact our lives forever.
     As an educator, coach, father, husband, and mentor I have failed so many times in life and I have witnessed a great deal of "failure" in each of my aforementioned roles as well. I like to say failure isn't failing unless you quit so you have to decide if you are going to give up just because something didn't work out the way you originally planned it or are you going to dig in a little deeper and pull yourself back up and take another step in the direction of your goal in life? When we begin looking at failure as an opportunity to grow our mindset turns in the direction of optimism and the anchor of defeat is lessened and eventually eliminated.
     Failing at something you want to accomplish may just cause you to evaluate how bad you really want something as Gordon points out in his book. He also says that failure may lead to your next success in some other area. The author shares that Oprah Winfrey was fired as a news anchor and told that she wasn't fit for television. Really??
      Are you holding back from taking a chance on something you want to accomplish in life, but you are too afraid that you might fail? Have you experienced a failure in life that has encumbered you and forced you to doubt yourself or your abilities? In either of these situations I want to encourage you to pull yourself up, set your sights on your plan or goal, and start making moves to reach your destination. You can do it, you can overcome it, become fearless in the face of failure and your whole approach will begin to change. Failure is a gift, accept it as such and embrace it for the growth it will provide. This week be amazing and be relentless in life's failures and setbacks. If a baby can get back up and not only learn to walk but to run, jump, dance, and play, your plops and flops are intended to help us grow and excel in our lives as well. Proverbs 24:16 reminds us, "The godly may trip seven times, but they will get up again. But one disaster is enough to overthrow the wicked." Trust, have faith, and get back up again one more time, ten more times, ten thousand more times, whatever it takes!