Failing
Forward
"Failing Forward" is the title of a bestseller written
by leadership guru, John Maxwell. It is also a powerful spiritual axiom
that encourages and empowers disciples to persevere until they achieve success.
Almighty God graciously gives talents and abilities to everyone. Often,
myriad circumstances thwart a person's pursuit of his dreams. Few people
travel a straight path to success, monetary gain or superlative achievement.
Bends in the road, unexpected detours and rough terrain result in zigzagging
toward actualization of your destiny. Not surprisingly, repeated failures
occur as a necessary component of spiritual progress and personal
maturity.
Failure is a non-negotiable aspect of life. No one is exempt. If you introduce me to someone who has never failed at anything, I will in turn introduce you to someone who has never tried to achieve anything meaningful. As one of life’s starkest ironies, failure undoubtedly precedes success. Interestingly, several superstars and celebrities in their respective fields insist it took fifteen to twenty years before they became overnight successes. The actor, Samuel L. Jackson, details the many small roles and bit parts he accepted in movies and theatre plays enroute to becoming the blockbuster on-screen sensation he is today. On the morning following a performance in which she, as an understudy, substituted for the marquee vocalist, The New York Times acclaimed the late opera singer, Beverly Sills, as an overnight success. She responded to these compliments, “It only took twenty years to become an overnight success.” Jackson and Sills experiences instruct aspirants in any field of the requirements of learning from failure.
President Richard Nixon posited, "You can never fully
appreciate the summits of victory and success until you first walk through the
valleys of defeat and failure." His advice encourages aspirants to fail
forward; each disappointment becomes a rung in a ladder of achievement.
Practically speaking, look for each lesson embedded within any failure.
Mistakes reveal imperfections in approach and techniques. Football
players watch film of their games to analyze their performance. Perhaps,
a recent defeat results from an accumulation of different errors such as
senseless holding penalties, inability to convert on third downs, bad plays in
red zone offense, inadequate special teams and reckless turnovers. These
five dimensions equate with a game plan for success. In order to win a
game, coaches and players painstakingly evaluate performance in each component
of the game. Similarly, each person faces a similar predicament in
assessing his losses. Self-evaluation yields improvement and advancement toward
success.
The late Professor Randall Pausch, who wrote the bestseller, The Last Lecture, suggests "running into brick walls helps you to clarify whether you really want what you say do." This stark and forthright image instructs us about the need to define and redefine our dreams as we encounter obstacles. Transform setbacks into stepping stones. Proverbial “brick walls” determine whether we are pursuing a heartfelt dream or entertaining a fleeting thought. Also, “brick walls” help to assess the depths of your strength. If you quit easily, you probably were in pursuit of a hobby instead of a goal. Conversely, if an idea absolutely refuses to die despite numerous failed attempts and myriad obstacles, perhaps it authentically lies within your heart. Failing forward, you utilize any collisions with “brick walls” to evaluate the essence of dreams, measure progress in achieving current goals and implement efficient lessons.
Actually, as you experience myriad problems, you cannot lose
heart. Matthew 17:20 affirms "Nothing is impossible with God."
Almighty God grants creativity, diligence and discipline to actualize your
heartfelt dreams. Regardless of the quantity and extent of our failures,
God promises success and victory if we submit our desires to Him. A very prevalent church song, "There is
No Failure in God," verifies the enduring truth of this verse. As we
trust Him unconditionally and genuinely rely upon His questionable
faithfulness, we apply His revealed wisdom to attain our dreams.
History is replete with countless examples of people who
failed forward. Abraham Lincoln failed more than one hundred times.
Time and time again, he ran for political office; except for one office,
Lincoln repeatedly tasted the bitter gall of defeat. Yet, after all of
those failures, Lincoln's one and only victory was his election as the
sixteenth President of the United States. The book, The Help, which was recently made into a box office movie, was
rejected by sixty publishers before acceptance. Eugene H. Peterson,
bestselling pastoral author, experienced twenty-six denials from publishing
houses before one accepted his first book. Finally, the professional
golfer, Phil Mikkelson, faced forty-five consecutive failures in tournaments.
He became the object of scorn, derision, laughter and pity. Eventually,
he won his first match, “The Masters,” the most prestigious tournament within
international golfing. With each defeat, Mikkelson failed forward.
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