Life is a journey filled with ups and downs. It is splashed with mountains of failures and valleys of disappointments.
Motivation: STEVE NYAMBE
Sometimes it is decorated with flowers of success and thorns of painful trials.
Continued failure may make you give, or drag you into an abyss of hopelessness.
But this is not your end.
It is your starting point. Think through your failures and don’t be misdirected by them.
Be a master weaver of your own destiny by plucking a leaf from the 16th United States President Abraham Lincoln’s inspiring story of achievement.
Lincoln is rated as one of the best American Presidents. He grew up in abject poverty.
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His story started this way. In 1832 he lost his job, as if it was not enough, he was defeated as a legislator the following year.
He then tried his hand in business, but nothing came out of it.
However, things temporarily worked out well for him in 1834, when he was elected as legislator.
The cloudy days
Even if you face an uphill task, do not give up.
There are many bright opportunities ahead. Cloudy days don’t mean the absence of the sun.
Just keep your most valuable asset — faith — fixed ahead and God will help you.
Remember, Romans 10:11, which says: “All those that trusted in Him where never embarrassed.”
Losing a sweetheart
So while Lincoln was enjoying the success of 1834, his luck seemed to have turned, but in 1835 disaster struck again, as he lost his sweetheart.
Painful times did not end there, as in 1836 he had nervous breakdown.
This was then followed by 1836 defeat as Illinois House Speaker and defeat to run for nomination for the US Congress.
Failures followed him everywhere.
Good news temporarily came in 1846 when he was elected to the Congress.
Two years later, he lost that nomination.
He might have been demoralised, dejected and discouraged, but he kept the faith.
Remember, nothing can destroy you without your permission.
Be a firm believer in God no matter what happens, be inspired by young David, who strongly believed against all odds and brought Goliath to his knees.
Losing the nomination was quickly followed by stunning rejection as a land officer.
What a mockery for a man, who would hold the esteemed office of the President later.
He picked himself up and went to try his luck as a US Senator, and again he lost.
Arise and shine
The fascinating thing is when he failed as a senator in 1854, he had guts to go for a higher office of the deputy President.
Remember, failure only holds value if you accept it.
Do not let that pin you down.
Again, it is not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog. Keep tackling those challenges.
Being down does not mean you are out. And being out does not mean, again, that you have failed.
Don’t let people push you down below the level of possible redemption, but raise your head above those dangerous troubled waters.
Even if torrid rains pour upon your head, don’t allow your mental anatomy to be soaked.
Rebrand yourself.
The 1856 catastrophe did not eat Lincoln away, neither did it stop him from being passionate, instead he aimed higher again.
Actually it worked as a powerful energiser to redirect him towards his chosen life track. Such is life, just move on.
You can do greater than what has been achieved before.
Engage yourself in stiff one-on-one competition with yourself in order to destroy and devastate your enemy called fear.
Finally, with all these failed attempts, he won against life by occupying the highest office in America, by becoming its President.
Why not carve a niche of belief that you can do it?
Failure is not final. Your current pain is your currency of winning.
No matter the tribulations you face, let this story inspire you by extinguishing the flames of failure and fear.
This is how life is, it is filled with narrations of great champions, who had hairy faith and did not view life as stroll in the park.
Henry Ford once said: “Failure is the opportunity to begin again more intelligently.”
When you hit against the walls of failure, know that the situation is politely begging for your innovativeness.
Thus, be innovative and the rest will be history. Do not be blinded by your negative surroundings, but keep focused on your life.
Endure your pain because it is just a temporary lay-by.
Steve Nyambe is a motivational speaker and leadership coach. He can be contacted on +263 784 583 761 or his email: [email protected]
