The Failure and Persistence of Abraham Lincoln

There is probably no better example of failure and persistence that I know of than the life of Abraham Lincoln. Here’s a little history: Lincoln was a man who failed in business at the age of 21; was defeated in a legislative race at age 22; failed again in business at age 24; overcame the death of his sweetheart at age 26; had a nervous breakdown at age 27; lost a congressional race at age 34; lost a senatorial race at age 45; failed in an effort to become vice-president at age 47; lost a senatorial race at age 49; and was elected president of the United States at age 52.

Would you dare call him a failure? He could have quit anywhere along the line. But to Lincoln, defeat was a detour, not a dead end. And it was a great source of learning. What situation in your life demonstrates learning through failure and/or persistence?

Something to Think About
Someone once told me that without rain, we would not have rainbows.

Weekly Activity 
When faced with adversity this week, remember Lincoln. Don’t give up!

Words of Wisdom
Every day is a new opportunity. You can build on yesterday's success or put its failures behind and start over again. That's the way life is, with a new game every day, and that's the way baseball is. – Bob Feller

In baseball, my theory is to strive for consistency, not to worry about the numbers. If you dwell on statistics you get shortsighted, if you aim for consistency, the numbers will be there at the end. -Tom Seaver

It doesn’t matter how many times you get knocked down. All that matters is that you get up one more time than you were knocked down. ? Roy T. Bennett

The more you've struggled, the more inspiring your story will be when you come out the other side. Do not give up. Today's struggle brings tomorrow's wisdom. - Vironika Tugaleva

People always start with vigor, deep aspirations, and inspirations, but things that happen as we journey and our reactions towards such things, fantasies and realities, determine the real robustness of our staying power and what distinctive thing we are able to do in reality with our vigor, aspirations and inspirations in the end! - Ernest Agyemang Yeboah