One of My Favorite Quotes
We all have quotes that we recall when the road is rough - this is one of mine.
The first time I heard this I was at a conference and the husband and wife on stage were recalling their story. The gentleman relayed to the audience how he and his wife had built a million plus dollar a year business and were ready to start building their dream home - then everything changed. They lost 80% of their revenue in less than 6 months and nearly went back into debt on their farm.
It is not an easy task to recover from such a circumstance especially after you climbed out of a debt hole that was several hundred thousand dollars. Yet, that is exactly what this couple did. They rebuilt the business bigger than when it almost fell apart.
Never Losing Enthusiasm
My mom has always been a quote person and the window by our kitchen sink accumulated many quotes over the years. I suppose that is where I gained my affinity for writing down quotes that aroused my spirit and keeping them posted in the house.
You can imagine the strength it takes to homeschool six children and have enough energy to love a husband when he comes home in the evening. The quotes for my mother were a wellspring of energy, and they were a teaching tool to her children.
My mom and my dad taught us early on that their failures were the essence of how they learned to love - they were and are the success of their marriage. The decisions of the household often had to be made soon after my father would come home in the late evening, and that is when they were both the most burdened from their days. It became a time of training for us kids to watch two tired people communicate what needed to happen for the success of the household while they both exuded extreme patience (and often not so much patience) with each other. One of the greatest gifts I was given as a young man was watching my parents resolve conflicts in front of me.
I have watched time and again in my own life when my failures became the essence of my success. At the points where I wanted to quit I remembered how my parents faced their own struggles in the moment and simply took the next step - there are times that all we know to do is take that next step.
Your failure can only define you when you stop moving and allow the pitfalls you face to consume you. I never lost 80% of my business but I did nearly lose my home. The good Lord knows what we each need in order for Him to use us later. We may not know it at the time but there is always someone who will need to hear our story when we come out victorious on the other side.
me for more great content.Image Source: 1
Thanks for the motivational article @lydon.sipe
You are most welcome @ebook-wizard.
This post has been ranked within the top 80 most undervalued posts in the first half of Apr 26. We estimate that this post is undervalued by $1.63 as compared to a scenario in which every voter had an equal say.
See the full rankings and details in The Daily Tribune: Apr 26 - Part I. You can also read about some of our methodology, data analysis and technical details in our initial post.
If you are the author and would prefer not to receive these comments, simply reply "Stop" to this comment.
without creative failure you'd never learn to hit the ball over the net and only someone who's given up would consider playing with the net down