“Many of life’s failures are people who had not realized how close they were to success when they gave up.”- Thomas A Edison

Life is a journey. We have to leave a mark or we simply existed and not  lived. We go from one episode to the next and we encounter stumbling blocks along the way which hinder us from attaining our goals and reaching that elusive “SUCCESS”. Sometimes we feel stuck, aimless and frustrated because we seem to lack the enthusiasm to go on or like a ship which encountered a doldrums, a region dreaded by sailboats because there are no winds to power the sails. In times like this, we have to go on… we need to move forward. If there is no wind to blow our sails, then we must use the oars enthusiastically to paddle our way out of the doldrums. In order to reach our destination, we have to get out of our comfort zone, paddle our way to success and be prepared for hindrances and setbacks along the way.

Failure can render one into inaction. People clam up after experiencing failure and are afraid to take a chance again. Some blame other people for their failure. Some even blame everything but themselves and take way too much time looking back at it. Too much time spent on the past is counter-productive because we cannot change what has been done. (There are no ‘Should of’s’,  Could of’s, and ‘What if’s’. Instead, one must use the lessons of the past to move forward. One cannot learn how much it would hurt if one doesn’t feel the pain.

Napoleon Hills stated in his book “Think and Grow Rich” that we must not wait; the time will never be "just right." We have to start where we stand, and work with whatever tools we may have at our command, and better tools will be found as we go along. Tom Sawyer took risks. He experienced failure and even experienced being a social outcast but it did not stop him to go for his goal and to do what he thought he must do. Take your first step now... paddle hard towards your destination. You may encounter problems along the way but persistence to reach your goal will take you there.

Be inspired by this excerpt from the Disney movie "Meet the Robinsons" which tells us that we can learn from failings. From success...not so much.

 

Are you stuck? Pause for a while, summon your strength, move forward and never give up. When you have reached your goal, you’ll be glad you took the first step.