|
Failure is never final unless I quit.
Failure isn’t a terminal event; it’s only a false step on the path to my
dreams. It may make me stumble, but it will not make me stop. Failure
is a test, and if I keep moving in the direction of my dreams, I pass
the test.
True failure happens when I believe that I can think the same old
thoughts, take the same old actions, and still get a new life. When I
fail, I must stop two things: I must stop what I am thinking and stop
what I am doing. If I continue to think the same old thoughts and take
the same old actions, failure will become a permanent part of my life.
I know how to fail intelligently. When I fail, I learn something from
it, and I don’t repeat my mistake. I maintain my purpose and
reformulate my plan taking into account what I have learned. Each
failure eliminates an unsuccessful strategy that could have prevented me
from reaching my dreams. As I walk on the path to my dreams, I carry a
backpack full of new thoughts and actions. Each time I fail, I pull a
new thought and new action out of my backpack. It doesn’t matter if I
fall down. As long as I get back up, think new thoughts, and take new
actions, I will reach my dreams.
Copyright © 2013
|
|
Riyadh sits on top of the Tuwayq escarpment two-thousand feet above sea
level. Just outside Riyadh, the escarpment drops off seven-hundred feet
to the east into the dunes of the sedimentary Nedj.
Standing on top of the escarpment you see the effects of millions of
years of erosion on the Arabian Shield. Wadis hundreds of feet deep cut
through this plateau creating massively dissected terrain. Trickles of
water that occasionally became torrents left their indelible imprint on
the landscape.
A similar thing can happen in your mind.
When you think the same
thoughts again and again, those thoughts create deep ruts and canyons in
your mind, and before long, they define your life. Mental ruts control
your destiny. Living in the canyons of the mind can be a nightmare if
those canyons were created by negative and destructive thoughts.
It's a bad idea to live a rutted life. You think the same old thoughts,
take the same old actions, and get the same old life.
If you are going to live a rutted life, then make sure those ruts are
positive, empowering, resourceful and unlimited. At least those types
of thoughts will support you on your journey.
Even better than that, stay out of ruts entirely. Make a real effort to
live the unrutted life. Every day, think new thoughts and take new
actions so that each day is a new adventure.
|
|
Every once in a while you'll hear me exclaim, "This is as good as it
gets." The problem with this statement is that it's wrong.
You will never reach a place in your life where it's impossible for
things to improve.
No matter how bad your life is, it can still get better.
No matter how good your life is, it can still improve.
The farther down you are, the more room you have for improvement. If you
are depressed, lonely, and destitute, that's good, because you have lots
of room for improvement.
If you are happy, if you have dozens of friends, and if you have plenty
of money, that's also good, because things can still get better.
No matter who you are, where you live, or what you have done in the
past, there is no limit to how good your life can become.
|
