“The honest, faithful struggler should always realize that failure is but an episode in a true man’s life,–never the whole story. It is never easy to meet, and no philosophy can make it so, but the steadfast courage to master conditions, instead of complaining of them, will help him on his way; it will ever enable him to get the best out of what he has. He never knows the long series of vanquished failures that give solidity to some one else’s success; he does not realize the price that some rich man, the innocent football of political malcontents and demagogues, has heroicly paid for wealth and position.” ~ William George Jordan
The way you carry yourself in the face of and after a failure will determine the likelihood of your future success. If you are prone to blame, complaint, withdrawal, fear, anger, self-pity and other ignoble tactics for avoiding the responsibility of doing your best, you are likely to feel that the “steadfast courage to master conditions” is forever beyond your reach. If, on the contrary, you look to live and give your best regardless of the scope of what lies ahead – for some disdain the little things while others fear the large – and of the quantity and quality of resources presently under your command, you will be well on your way.
“The man who has a pessimist’s doubt of all things; who demands a certified guarantee of his future; who ever fears his work will not be recognized or appreciated; or that after all, it is really not worth while, will never live his best. He is dulling his capacity for real progress by his hypnotic course of excuses for inactivity, instead of a strong tonic of reasons for action.“
Gregory Hake 
Great perspective – I especially like the picture you chose for this post!
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I loved the phrase “strong tonic of reasons for action,” as I feel we are all meant to be active – actively participating in life, assisting to move things gracefully to the next step in any situation and backed by just the simple desire to do one’s best.
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There are no guarantees in life – we cannot predict the unfolding of our lives any more than we can predict the weather. But what we can do is learn how the world operates – its order, its laws. To be at peace with this is the first step to being free to explore yourself and your world effectively. Any demand for a guarantee will immediately put the shackles on creativity and ingenuity. No one knows what exists in the great beyond for anyone and only each person has the power to discover it for themselves. Others will certainly play a role in that, for after all we all share life’s force, but it is up to each one to clear their own path. In this perspective, what we call failure is but a narrow snapshot taken out of context. How you handle yourself in these individualized moments is great cause for reflection as it reveals your core beliefs about life and it can show you if there is need for constructive adjustments to be made to get you on your way to the ultimate success of self-discovery and genuine service to mankind.
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Is doing our best consistently an antidote for failure? No, but it does make it easier to face failure, adopt a noble approach, make the necessary corrections and move on. Somehow it seems that doing our best develops a reservoir of strength and well-being from which we may draw in times of failure or crisis.
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If a plumbing joint fails a pressure test we gladly tend to the area that was inadequately assembled, or we replace the weak pipe. We will probably note, for future reference, the reason for the problem so that it is not repeated.
Our lives are constantly being pressure tested, but so many habits based in shame and denial can cause us to avoid the straightforward observation and assessment that would allow safer and more effective movement forward. To acknowledge failure where the evidence presents itself and to assume responsibility wherever and however one may – here is a simple formula for accumulating success. Obviously we don’t wish to fail particularly, but we do wish for the weaknesses and inaccuracies in our lives to come to light so that the larger pattern may develop into one of success and creative achievement.
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The last quote really resonated with me. To change something in your life, an example being movement from a habit of inactivity to a habit of constant progress, you must have a motivation, a “strong tonic”. I think every person on the road to success had to find that motivation, that raison d’être, that allows them to change their life’s big question from “what can I do for me” to “what can I do that will help the most people”. This should be an easy transition, achieved in childhood. Yet in today’s world, with physical children (in many cases) being raised by emotional children, this can be a hard question for people to even ask, never mind making the actual transition.
Why do you do the things you do every day? Do you scratch a living, or do you reach new heights of what is possible for you to achieve?
If you’re not living life the way you think you should, what will your “strong tonic” be, to make the change and to keep it that way?
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Giving up after a failure is still giving up. No one earns the right to give up on a fruitful life and succumb to the sour existence of those who have “tried” but the deck was too stacked against them.
I think he said it accurately,it’s not easy to meet with failue and there is no philosophy to make the pain disappear. There is on the other hand powerful reasons to not only meet it but continue to rise up. This is when you refresh your passion for your true purpose. It’s active, enlivening and offers a conduit to the comfort only found by this authentic muse.
Having met with a few failures I’ve realized, if you choose to collapse, you endanger all those who depend on you. Their lives are not in fact dependent on our successes in endeavors but our success in living a life inspired by continued reverence and service to our higher purpose.
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