Yes, I know that headline is a little strong, but just hear me out on this one.
This topic has been in my head for a bit and I wanted to share it with you today. Here’s the thing. Based on thousands of years of history, it’s a safe bet that we are all going to die. We almost never know when or exactly how, but death is inevitable.
You know what we can control? We can control how we live. Too many people I know walk through life like they are walking on egg shells. They are scared to make waves. They are scared to fail. We often worry about stress and failure, but do you realize that 98 percent of what you worry about will never come to fruition?
I’m telling you, that way of thinking isn’t living! That’s just existing.
Believe it or not, failure is a good thing. It teaches us what not to do in the future and gets us one step closer to achieving those goals we’ve been dreaming. It was Thomas Edison who, after failing many times to create the light bulb, “I have not failed. I’ve found 10,000 ways that won’t work,” he said.
Every single person who has succeeded has failed much more than they’ve won. They succeed because they know that the secret isn’t how you start, it’s how you finish. They know it’s OK to fail but it’s not OK to quit.
Some people I see start failing early in life, or at least early in their career. The problem is, they accept that failure and just quit trying. They are physically alive, but professionally and mentally they are dead. Even young professionals who are 25 to 30 years old can get this chip on their shoulder and they basically give up on their dreams because they are scared to fail or to fail again.
As morbid as this may sound, giving up at the age of 25 but not getting buried until they are 65 years old is just a different way of dying because they never truly live. They give up way too soon. For anyone who is reading this, no matter how old you are now, don’t give up. Don’t let failure keep you from getting back up, dusting yourself off, and trying again.
At the same time, when you find that success, don’t let it go to your head. Don’t stop striving for more and better success. The struggles, failures, and successes you have today are forming the strength and knowledge you need for the future.
One final thought: God gives every single one of us a gift. Many times, failure happens because you have not yet discovered your gift. Continue striving, continue trying. Never give up and don’t die before you’re dead!