“Success is never achieved without preceding failures.”  Seni Hazzan

How has the low point of your life shaped who you are today?

We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they are good for us–they help us learn to endure.  (Rom. 5:3; NLT)

During my quiet time this morning I was thinking about a theme for the next several DG’s and was reminded of a book I read several years ago entitled Rebuilding from Ground Zero by Seni Hazzan.  I recalled being very moved by the book and will be pulling heavily from it’s pages for the next week or so.

As you can probably guess, the book was written in the chaotic days after 9/11 and used the ground zero metaphor to describe calamity, devastation, chaos, etc.  When brought to a personal level, that could include anything from divorce to a broken relationship, from losing a job to bankruptcy, from a serious accident to a terminal prognosis, et al.  The message of the book is that we all go through times from which we are sure we will never recover, yet somehow, the resilience of human-kind is programmed to bounce back…usually better than before.

Hazzan briefly goes through several examples of famous people with well-known stories to illustrate the point.  I’ll spare you the details, and allow your memory of their stories to demonstrate their attitude of perseverance and tenacity.
–Christopher Columbus and his shipwrecks and rejection before finally discovering the “New World” that we now call home
–Abraham Lincoln and his rejection, business failure, and multiple election losses before going on to be one of the greatest Presidents of our country
–Thomas Edison and his legendary thousands of failures in his attempt to invent the light bulb–each failure taking him closer to success
–Martin Luther King, Jr. and his early academic setbacks before going on to be remembered in history for his impossible dream
–Walt Disney and his many failures before creating Mickey Mouse, the cartoon character that launched an empire
–Sam Walton who had to sell his first successful store because he lost his lease but who went on to build the retail giant, Wal-Mart
–Fred Smith and his “C” level undergraduate research paper that ultimately became the foundation of Fed Ex
–Oprah Winfrey who came from an extremely difficult childhood to develop and host an award-winning TV show watched by millions

Those are just a few of the more famous adversity to success stories.  You undoubtedly have your own story or stories.  As Hazzan points out, “It really is true that you cannot fully enjoy the sweet taste of success without the memory of bitter struggle to compare it to.”  Very similar to Napoleon Hill’s “Every adversity has the seed of an equivalent or greater benefit for those who have a positive mental attitude.” 

Adversity is never fun, but can be the launching pad to greatness.  It always comes down to a choice, doesn’t it?

Prayer Power
Lord, we praise and thank You that You designed us to be able to “bounce back” from adversity.  Your Word gives us multiple promises that “this too shall pass” and be exchanged for a better tomorrow.  Give us grace to remember those promises in our time of need.

Link of the Day
Faith Realignment–It’s How You See It

Blessings on you as you choose to look for the good that can emerge from your difficulty.

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