No;one;likes;to;fail;at;anything, especially;when;it;involves chool.;Yet;one;key;element of;becoming;successful;as
a;leader;in;business,;ministry,;or;life;in
general;is;learning;how;to;fail;and;re-cover;well.
“The;key;to;success;is;massive;failure,”
says;Thomas;Watson;of;IBM.
People who haven’t learned how to
deal;well;with;failure;can;find;themselves
in;a;state;of;near;depression;for;days,
weeks,;months,;or;even;years.;It;can;even
affect;performance;at;work,;with;family,
or;in;marriage.
Leaders;make;decisions;that;affect;the
lives;of;others.;Those;decisions;can’t;be
made;from;fear,;reactions;to;circumstan-ces,;or;peer;pressure.;Leaders;must;stand
alone;with;clear;vision;and;confidence.
That’s;why;CEOs;are;paid;such;extrava-
gant;salaries;with;benefits.;The;financial
success;of;entire;companies;depends;on
the;decisions;they;make;and;the;leader-
ship;they;provide.;Their;insight,;experi-
ence,;and;courage;make;them;valuable.
Plus,;CEOs;often;make;most;of;their
money;through;performance-based;in-
centives. The better the company per-
forms,;the;more;money;they;make.;They
must;learn;to;correct;corporate;mistakes
quickly or everyone suffers, including
their;customers.
Since confidence to lead and make
decisions;comes;from;faith;and;experi-
ence,;we;parents;should;give;our;chil-
dren plenty of opportunities to make
mistakes;in;safe;environments;by;prac-
ticing with small projects. The more
experience;students;get,;the;more;com-
fortable;they;will;be;in;handling;failure
when;it;happens.
It;is;certainly;not;recommended;that
students;fail;intentionally;and;especially
not;morally;;we’re;talking;about;learning
from;failure;when;it;happens.
Also, having a physical or mental
handicap;is;no;excuse;for;not;learning
leadership;skills;so;students;with;special
needs;should;be;given;opportunities;to
lead—and;fail—as;well.
And;don’t;forget,;a;wise;man;also;learns
from;the;mistakes;of;others.;Use;the;excel-
lent;examples;in;the;Bible;as;lessons.
The;main;lesson;from;the;Bible;is;that
we;are;all;sinners;so;Jesus;was;sent;by
God;to;die;for;our;sins.;When;we;mess
up,;we;have;an;Advocate;with;the;Father.
It;is;only;by;believing;in;Jesus;that;we
have;true;success:;eternal;life.
Because;of;fear,;we;often;opt;out;of;op-portunity. For example, have you ever
been;guilty;of;this?
•;You;don’t;raise;your;hand;in;class;to
answer;a;question;because;if;you;give
the;wrong;answer,;the;teacher;will;rep-rimand;you;and;your;classmates;will
laugh.;Instead,;you;look;at;the;floor.
Work;From;Home
Rhea Perry
Rethinking;Failure
This;fear;of;failure;is;what;keeps;us;from;stepping;out;in;faith
to;attempt;big;projects.
