Failure. The One Surprising Ingredient With The Greatest Success Stories.
I was watching the film “Swingers” where Vince Vaughn delivers his famous line “You are so money and you don’t even know it.” That sounds so much better than 'You have so much potential.' For one thing, it elevates that “potential” to a place of measurable value. Our money is a symbol of good faith showing that we truly value a product or service with trust through the integrity of money as an exchange.
The definition and capture of success is a very pursued quality and can seem like an illusive dangling carrot even to those who are perceived as having it.
I am continually reading success stories and watching inspirational movies to learn more about living a life of exceptional quality that affords me the great pleasure of being able to give in abundance and create benefits for my family and friends.
Inspiring voices like Andy Andrews, Laurie Beth Jones, Dr. Richard Carlson, Steven K. Scott, Dave Ramsey, and Joel Osteen are just a few of the leaders I have tracked over the past decade. Some very compelling and consistent elements weave through every tale.
I feel it is important to mention that I found a great surprise with the stories of our greatest leaders. There are extreme “failure” patterns. And I don’t want you to take this the wrong way, but I was more than a little comforted by that fact. I suppose the reason is because those stories of failure serve as a strong symbol of hope for me. In every biography or history lesson, the most impactful stories seem to have the most fantastic or even horrifying extremes.
Andy Andrews, a New York Times Best Selling Author, was once suicidal and literally homeless, sleeping under a pier on the Gulf Coast or in someone’s garage. His final question before the turning point in his life was, “Is life just a lottery ticket, or are there choices one can make to direct his future?”
http://www.andyandrews.com/
Steven K. Scott, Billionaire and World Renown Entrepreneur was fired from nine jobs following graduation from college before he discovered the strategies and skills that changed his life. http://www.stevenkscott.com/
Dave Ramsey, Financial Expert as seen on Oprah Winfrey Show, CBS & Fox with more than 450 radio shows across the country had to lose everything financially before he claimed his current steadfast success. At the age of 26, he was a millionaire on paper, having over $4 million in real estate and about $3 million leveraged in debt. The bank he had been dealing with was bought out by another lender and they called all of his loans. All of them! When he couldn’t sell the property fast enough, he was foreclosed on and then consequently sued six ways from Sunday. He says he fought tooth and nail for over two years before he finally declared bankruptcy. He almost lost his marriage. The new currently released Financial Peace videos, show his wife saying that she seriously thought about leaving him during that very dark time. In Dave’s life events, he describes when he hit rock-bottom, standing in the shower crying because of the fear and the sense of failure. http://www.daveramsey.com/
In 1963, Edward Lorenz, Scientist made a presentation to the New York Academy of Sciences and was literally laughed out of the room. His theory, called the butterfly effect, stated that a butterfly could flap its wings and set air molecules in motion that, in turn, would move other air molecules–which would then move additional air molecules–eventually becoming able to influence weather patterns on the other side of the planet. For years this theory remained an interesting myth. In the mid 1990s, however, physics professors from several universities, working in tandem, proved that the butterfly effect was accurate, viable, and worked every time.
The definition and capture of success is a very pursued quality and can seem like an illusive dangling carrot even to those who are perceived as having it.
I am continually reading success stories and watching inspirational movies to learn more about living a life of exceptional quality that affords me the great pleasure of being able to give in abundance and create benefits for my family and friends.
Success looks like this. Spending the day with my children and buying them an ice cream.
I feel it is important to mention that I found a great surprise with the stories of our greatest leaders. There are extreme “failure” patterns. And I don’t want you to take this the wrong way, but I was more than a little comforted by that fact. I suppose the reason is because those stories of failure serve as a strong symbol of hope for me. In every biography or history lesson, the most impactful stories seem to have the most fantastic or even horrifying extremes.
Andy Andrews, a New York Times Best Selling Author, was once suicidal and literally homeless, sleeping under a pier on the Gulf Coast or in someone’s garage. His final question before the turning point in his life was, “Is life just a lottery ticket, or are there choices one can make to direct his future?”
http://www.andyandrews.com/
Steven K. Scott, Billionaire and World Renown Entrepreneur was fired from nine jobs following graduation from college before he discovered the strategies and skills that changed his life. http://www.stevenkscott.com/
Dave Ramsey, Financial Expert as seen on Oprah Winfrey Show, CBS & Fox with more than 450 radio shows across the country had to lose everything financially before he claimed his current steadfast success. At the age of 26, he was a millionaire on paper, having over $4 million in real estate and about $3 million leveraged in debt. The bank he had been dealing with was bought out by another lender and they called all of his loans. All of them! When he couldn’t sell the property fast enough, he was foreclosed on and then consequently sued six ways from Sunday. He says he fought tooth and nail for over two years before he finally declared bankruptcy. He almost lost his marriage. The new currently released Financial Peace videos, show his wife saying that she seriously thought about leaving him during that very dark time. In Dave’s life events, he describes when he hit rock-bottom, standing in the shower crying because of the fear and the sense of failure. http://www.daveramsey.com/
In 1963, Edward Lorenz, Scientist made a presentation to the New York Academy of Sciences and was literally laughed out of the room. His theory, called the butterfly effect, stated that a butterfly could flap its wings and set air molecules in motion that, in turn, would move other air molecules–which would then move additional air molecules–eventually becoming able to influence weather patterns on the other side of the planet. For years this theory remained an interesting myth. In the mid 1990s, however, physics professors from several universities, working in tandem, proved that the butterfly effect was accurate, viable, and worked every time.
See "Butterfly Effect" Video by Utopia Joe. Joe painted this portrait of his daughter Vanessa whose name means "Butterfly" more than five years before she was born.
The hard honest truth is that all the success stories are marked by some sort of embarrassing and humiliating failure. I believe that the quality of Humility is vital for success. However, it must be equally balanced with confidence. Just when you’re thinking “If they only knew…” ensued with trailing thoughts of despair that lower your head in self-prescribed shame… well that’s just the time to know the facts about your fellow man. His failures. His Lessons. And then finally His Successes that can only come from overcoming... you guessed it... His Failures.
On the flip side of every risk is responsibility that's filled with hope and understanding. Throw your head and shoulders back with confidence and look forward with facts of our great leader's history and faith in your best life of the future.
Know that the greatest have also been in the position of being the least. And that all those trials and mistakes make an arsenal of powerful perspective that usher forward creative solutions to vanquish the real menace rather than just the metaphor. Know who you are. You're Money. You are so Money!
Inspirational Prints signed by Tiffany Bora are available at Etsy Boutique. www.etsy.com/tipsyartist
This line of inspirational creative collage was the #1 Best Seller for Successories SOHO Line in 2010. http://www.successories.com/
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