December 23–Resolutions or Results?  (Part 6 – Failure Is Not An Option!

The last ingredient we need to add to our dream/goal accomplishing recipe is the one that brings all of the others together.  No matter how things may appear, resolve that failure is not an option and never quit.

Every Time You Turn On A Light Think Of This…

Most of us are familiar with Thomas Edison as the inventor of the electric light bulb.  The story goes that a young reporter once asked Edison if he felt like a failure and why hadn’t he given up on his quest to invent the light bulb.  What appeared to be failure to others was not Edison’s reality.  His response, “Young man, why would I feel like a failure? And why would I ever give up? I now know definitively over 9,000 ways that an electric light bulb will not work. Success is almost in my grasp.” Today, after over 10,000 attempts, we light our world with Edison’s invention.  Edison’s greatest success was his ability to reframe his thinking.   

A Mountain or a Speed Bump?  You Choose. 

At age 67 most of his life’s work went up in smoke because of a fire that destroyed his laboratory.  Although he was no longer a young man, and had little insurance, his attitude was not one of failure.  Instead he said, “There is great value in disaster.  All our mistakes are burned up.  Thank God we can start new.”  Three weeks after that he invented the phonograph. 

While I taught “Recipe for Reading” to children experiencing reading problems, I had a “suggested reading” list that I asked parents to read to their children.  Edison’s story was on that list. 

Don’t Make Excuses! 

As a young child Edison was partially deaf and sent home from school one day with a note from his teacher that read, “Your Tommy is too stupid to learn, get him out of the school.”  Fortunately, Tommy had a mother who didn’t agree and she answered, “My Tommy is not too stupid to learn, I will teach him myself”.

When You Think About Gving Up,  Consider This…

Edison did not let physical challenges, lack of formal education, money, or age stand in his way.  Keep this quote from Edison with you and read it often, “Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”

Remember:  Failure is not an option!