Thoughts . . .

February 20-26, 2000 - Vol. 3, No. 5


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QUOTATION OF THE WEEK

Today is a new day. You will get out of it just what you put into it. . . . If you have made mistakes, even serious mistakes, there is always another chance for you. And supposing you have tried and failed again and again, you may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this thing that we call "failure" is not the falling down, but the staying down.
--Mary Pickford, (1893-1979) Actress

PERSONAL REFLECTIONS

Failure is a word that Webster defines as, "a not succeeding in doing or becoming." Webster's definition is one that, in one form or another, we often use for what we consider failures in our lives. Much of the time we let it end there. But that is a mistake that those who truly succeed in life do not make. Failure does not signify the end of something unless we let it. Failure is a step in the process. Sometimes it is a very important step, for from failure we learn. I have learned much more from my failures in life than I have learned from my successes. If you have the courage to look at your failures, not in a way of self-pity, but in a way of self-revelation, then you can learn and grow. You can get up time and time again. You can succeed!

So in your efforts to succeed, reframe the word "failure" from meaning a lack of success to instead being a very important tool in your quest for success. Honor your failures as the best instructor you could hope for, an instructor who will guide you in making sound course corrections in your journey toward your goal. As Mary Pickford said, " . . . failure is not the falling down, but the staying down."

Blessings and Love,
Allen Schmeltz

Copyright © 2000 Allen F. Schmeltz. All rights reserved.

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