May I sing you a song?
“Do you remember those famous men
Who had to fall to rise again
They pick themselves up,
Dust themselves off
And start all over again.”*
I’ve missed a few fly balls in my lifetime while playing little league baseball, but I was still considered an above average player.
I’ve sung a few flat notes in my lifetime, but I can still sing and people listen and say nice things.
I’ve lost a few ping pong games in my life, but I still play a great game of ping pong.
I’ve missed closing a few sales in my lifetime, but I can still make a good living at selling.
When Paul Meyer was alive, I heard him say one day that he had started over 130 companies and 65% of them failed, yet he kept trying and died a multi-millionaire. Paul is credited as being one of the first people to launch the whole personal development industry. He never let his failures define his life.
Paul picked himself up, dusted himself off, and started all over again.
Here is the point I want to make. Don’t let your mistakes define who you are.
Erma Bombeck, noted newspaper columnists, once commented, “I’ve been to book signings where only two people showed up. One wanted directions to the men’s room and the other person wanted to buy the desk at which I was sitting. What you have to tell yourself is, ‘I’m not a failure. I failed at doing something.’”
I still play drums a few times a year, and occasionally my sticks get tangled up on the rims, or occasionally I may drop a stick or two, but I still drum. I’m not a failure as a drummer.
I love this story about Arnold Palmer (from Dare to Dream by John Maxwell):
“It occurred at the 1961 Los Angeles Open at the peak of Palmer’s career. On the par-five ninth hole, his last of the day, Palmer hit a good drive and wanted to try to put the ball on the green with his second shot. That would put him in good position to attempt a birdie, putting him one stroke closer to the leaders.
“With his three-wood, Palmer hit what he believed was a good shot. But as the ball sailed, it faded to the right, hit a pole, and bounded out of bounds onto the driving range. Palmer dropped a ball, took a penalty stroke, and tried again.
This time his ball hooked to the left and flew off the course into a road. Again he dropped a ball and took a penalty stroke. He repeated this process, hitting the ball out of bounds several times. Finally, he put the ball on the green. By then, he had accumulated ten strokes.
It took him two more strokes to sink the putt. He finished with a twelve and because of that, he went from a few strokes behind the leaders to being out of the tournament.
Today, if you go to the ninth hole at the Rancho Park Golf Course in Los Angeles, you will find a bronze plaque that states: “On Friday, January 6, 1961, the first day of the 35th Los Angeles Open, Arnold Palmer, voted Golfer of the Year and Pro Athlete of the Year took a 12 on this hole.”
John Maxwell says in Attitude 101, “When achievers fail, they see it as a momentary event, not a lifelong epidemic.”
Just because we have failed at something doesn’t mean we are a failure.
What about you? Do you have some things you’d rather forget? Remember, just because you have failed doesn’t mean you are a failure! I want to shout that in your ear, softly, so that it sinks down deeply into your inner being, your spizzerinctum. (I think that’s somewhere below the belt.
Need more convincing? Consider this. This man really experienced a losing streak.
He failed in business in ’31.
He was defeated for state legislator in ’32.
He tried another business in ’33. It failed.
His fiancé died in ’35.
He had a nervous breakdown in’36.
In ’43 he ran for Congress and was defeated.
He tried again in ’48 and was defeated again.
He tried running for the Senate in ’55. He lost.
The next year he ran for Vice President and lost.
In’59 he ran for the Senate again and was defeated.
In 1860, the man who signed his name A. Lincoln was elected the 16th President of the United States.
Each time, after each setback, I think I can hear Abe singing …
“I picked myself up, dusted myself off
And started all over again.”
Always remember: Failure Is Not Final.
You have uniqueness written all over you.
You have resilience.
You are as capable today as yesterday, or last week or last year.
Remember these tips:
-Assess your mistakes
-Seek advice, coaching and counsel from a mentor or more experienced person
-Learn more, read more, dream more
-Practice perfect practice
-Use mental movies of yourself performing perfectly every time
-Go back up to bat, swing and knock the ball out of the park next time!
Pick yourself up.
Dust yourself off.
And start all over again.
Go get ‘em!
And remember …
*Lyrics to Pick yourself Up are written by Dorothy Fields, 1936
“Do you remember those famous men
Who had to fall to rise again
They pick themselves up,
Dust themselves off
And start all over again.”*
I’ve missed a few fly balls in my lifetime while playing little league baseball, but I was still considered an above average player.
I’ve sung a few flat notes in my lifetime, but I can still sing and people listen and say nice things.
I’ve lost a few ping pong games in my life, but I still play a great game of ping pong.
I’ve missed closing a few sales in my lifetime, but I can still make a good living at selling.
When Paul Meyer was alive, I heard him say one day that he had started over 130 companies and 65% of them failed, yet he kept trying and died a multi-millionaire. Paul is credited as being one of the first people to launch the whole personal development industry. He never let his failures define his life.
Paul picked himself up, dusted himself off, and started all over again.
Here is the point I want to make. Don’t let your mistakes define who you are.
Erma Bombeck, noted newspaper columnists, once commented, “I’ve been to book signings where only two people showed up. One wanted directions to the men’s room and the other person wanted to buy the desk at which I was sitting. What you have to tell yourself is, ‘I’m not a failure. I failed at doing something.’”
I still play drums a few times a year, and occasionally my sticks get tangled up on the rims, or occasionally I may drop a stick or two, but I still drum. I’m not a failure as a drummer.
I love this story about Arnold Palmer (from Dare to Dream by John Maxwell):
“It occurred at the 1961 Los Angeles Open at the peak of Palmer’s career. On the par-five ninth hole, his last of the day, Palmer hit a good drive and wanted to try to put the ball on the green with his second shot. That would put him in good position to attempt a birdie, putting him one stroke closer to the leaders.
“With his three-wood, Palmer hit what he believed was a good shot. But as the ball sailed, it faded to the right, hit a pole, and bounded out of bounds onto the driving range. Palmer dropped a ball, took a penalty stroke, and tried again.
This time his ball hooked to the left and flew off the course into a road. Again he dropped a ball and took a penalty stroke. He repeated this process, hitting the ball out of bounds several times. Finally, he put the ball on the green. By then, he had accumulated ten strokes.
It took him two more strokes to sink the putt. He finished with a twelve and because of that, he went from a few strokes behind the leaders to being out of the tournament.
Today, if you go to the ninth hole at the Rancho Park Golf Course in Los Angeles, you will find a bronze plaque that states: “On Friday, January 6, 1961, the first day of the 35th Los Angeles Open, Arnold Palmer, voted Golfer of the Year and Pro Athlete of the Year took a 12 on this hole.”
John Maxwell says in Attitude 101, “When achievers fail, they see it as a momentary event, not a lifelong epidemic.”
Just because we have failed at something doesn’t mean we are a failure.
What about you? Do you have some things you’d rather forget? Remember, just because you have failed doesn’t mean you are a failure! I want to shout that in your ear, softly, so that it sinks down deeply into your inner being, your spizzerinctum. (I think that’s somewhere below the belt.
Need more convincing? Consider this. This man really experienced a losing streak.
He failed in business in ’31.
He was defeated for state legislator in ’32.
He tried another business in ’33. It failed.
His fiancé died in ’35.
He had a nervous breakdown in’36.
In ’43 he ran for Congress and was defeated.
He tried again in ’48 and was defeated again.
He tried running for the Senate in ’55. He lost.
The next year he ran for Vice President and lost.
In’59 he ran for the Senate again and was defeated.
In 1860, the man who signed his name A. Lincoln was elected the 16th President of the United States.
Each time, after each setback, I think I can hear Abe singing …
“I picked myself up, dusted myself off
And started all over again.”
Always remember: Failure Is Not Final.
You have uniqueness written all over you.
You have resilience.
You are as capable today as yesterday, or last week or last year.
Remember these tips:
-Assess your mistakes
-Seek advice, coaching and counsel from a mentor or more experienced person
-Learn more, read more, dream more
-Practice perfect practice
-Use mental movies of yourself performing perfectly every time
-Go back up to bat, swing and knock the ball out of the park next time!
Pick yourself up.
Dust yourself off.
And start all over again.
Go get ‘em!
And remember …
Failure is not final!
*Lyrics to Pick yourself Up are written by Dorothy Fields, 1936
Thanks, Mike! I read all of your Up-Words...such great insight and encouragement!
ReplyDeleteThomas Wayne: "And why do we fall, Bruce? So we can learn to pick ourselves up." Batman Begins
ReplyDeleteAfter a round dof golf, British stateman David Lloyd George and a friend walked through a field in which cows were grazing. They were so absorbed in conversation that they forgot to close the gate when they left the fenced area.
ReplyDeleteDavid Lloyd George happened to notice the open gate, however, and went back to close it. Mr. George told his friend that this little incident reminded him of a doctor who, when dying, was asked by a minister whether there was anything he wanted to say before he slipped away.
"No," the doctor replied, "except that through life I think I have always closed the gates behind me." The dying man meant by this that he learned the secret of putting past failures and disappointments behind him so they would not rob him of his joy and peace.
Karen Mains, used beautiful language of her own choosing when talking about the effects of restorative grace. She writes:
ReplyDelete"Nature shouts of this beginning-again-God, that God who can make all our failures regenerative, the One who is God-of-risings-again, who never tires of fresh starts, nativities, renaissances in persons or in culture. He composts life's sour fruits, moldering rank and decomposing; He applies the organic matter to our new day chances; he freshens the world with dew; he hydrates withered human hearts with his downpouring Spirit. ("With My Whole Heart)cf 2 Cor. 12:10
Failure is never final when we know to Whom we belong. He will accept you and give you the joy of new beginnings. "Give them all...shattered dreams, wounded hearts, broken toys. He will turn your sorrows into joy."