We are all trying to “puzzle” our way through life. As you piece together your identity, consider the people, communities, and values that impact you.
In 1831, Abraham Lincoln failed in business.
In 1832, Abraham Lincoln was defeated for state legislator.
In 1833, Abraham Lincoln tried a new business, and failed.
In 1835, Abraham Lincoln’s fiancée died.
In 1836, Abraham Lincoln had a nervous breakdown.
In 1843, Abraham Lincoln ran for congress and was defeated.
In 1848, Lincoln ran again, and was defeated. Again.
In 1855, Lincoln ran for the Senate, and lost.
In 1856, Lincoln ran for Vice President, and lost.
In 1859, Lincoln ran again for the Senate. He was defeated.
Then, in 1860, Abraham Lincoln was elected President of the United States.
What matters most is not how many times you fail, but that you never stop trying.
-Rusty
Photo from stockvault
We are all trying to “puzzle” our way through life. As you piece together your identity, consider the people, communities, and values that impact you.
You’ve likely heard the children’s story about the ugly duckling. What difference does a change in perspective make? Read on to find out how you can relate to his experience.
You are capable of greatness. In fact, it is already within you. You just need to discover it, and then work to bring your life into alignment so that your life's mission and your life become one and the same. That's when you'll shine. That's when you'll experience full joy and fulfillment, when you're actions align to your purpose. We can help.
The night I quit my job I had a decision to make: wait, or just start. I chose to just start and held a seminar the next day. People in motion tend to stay in motion and people at rest tend to stay at rest. So whatever it is you've been waiting to do... just start!
The hardest handicaps to overcome are mental. It happens when we tell ourselves the wrong story. Change the story.
The funny, but insightful story about how we tend to destroy what is most precious to us. A video from an international speech competition.
Life Engineering is dedicated to helping individuals, parents, leaders, and organizations achieve excellence.
We provide the tools and the training, the motivation and the methodology, an entire system designed to help you move beyond where you’ve been, to go farther than you thought you could… to achieve more, to do more, to become more. It’s about more than just short-term success. It’s the disciplined pursuit of excellence.
16 Responses
Funny, I hear people do a similar argument about George W. Bush and say that’s why he was such a lousy president. Now that I think about it, while George W. Bush was not my favorite president (and neither was Lincoln, btw, I prefer Washington and Jefferson personally) — Bush was very familiar with Lincoln’s story and he did compare his life story to Lincoln’s, IIRC. And I gotta hand this to Bush — it’s true that neither President was popular in his time.
Dunno what my point is — it’s not to say Bush is “TEH AWESUM!” nor that “BUSH IS WHY THIS COUNTRY IS A MESS.” Just got me pondering about the similarities, and what history books will say about this time in our country’s history a few generations from now.
Rusty!
I saw this postcard via postsecret.com and I thought of your recent thoughts and theories of failure…thought you might like it!
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_a7jkcMVp5Vg/S7jLr6kocAI/AAAAAAAALcM/mYFPJc5vuj8/s1600/freedomthroughfailure.jpg
I love it. Thanks Anna!
Yes, I liked it and I too hardly believe in this . But sometimes what I think and often I ask to myself that ”IS IT PRACTICALLY POSSIBLE IN THE MODERN WORLD?” Now a days in this busy world everybody is busy from morning till night. then is it possible for anybody to choose a person as legacy?
His life story is much more complex than many defeats followed by a major win. This can be easily verified on the wikipedia page for Lincoln. He had many devastating problems, not entire uncommon for the mid 19th century, and perhaps more than most, but he also had several winning moments – certainly not just one. Teaching himself law, becoming a lawyer, election to state legislature in 1834, serving in the House in 1846. There were many successes before he become president.
Great precedence of a person who failed most and finally came to be on top. It gives courage to all of us in this World of trying what will make us live and servive.
I seldom comment, but i did a few searching and wound up here Life-Engineering Abraham Lincoln encountered
failure after failure, before becoming president of the United States.
And I do have 2 questions for you if you don’t mind. Is it just me or does it appear like a few of the comments appear as if they are written by brain dead folks? :-P And, if you are posting at additional places, I would like to keep up with anything fresh you have to post. Would you list of the complete urls of your shared pages like your twitter feed, Facebook page or linkedin profile?
thank you so much for such a good information about this man, Lord help us all to achieve our purpose in life in Jesus Name. Amen
Abraham Lincoln is an inspiration to both the youth and adults of today. His background and his journey to the top of the ladder challenges us to pick something up every time we fall down and to also use our setbacks as setups for our comebacks. Abraham Lincoln a true fighter!
Abraham Lincoln lost so many times that he did not fear failure.That is why he contested so many times.