We tackled the strategy of success which involves setting a goal then a plan to achieve it and working hard according to that plan.
They say “The distance between your dreams and reality is called action”. Actions speak louder than words and it is the real measure of man’s intentions. There is no way for man to achieve success save hard working. Work honestly and you will monitor your progress. They say, “By working faithfully eight hours a day you may eventually get to be boss and work twelve hours a day”. Whoever waits for success without exerting any effort would face nothing, but failure.
One should evaluate each step he takes lest he waste his efforts. One recalls a story about a group who travelled by sea to find a job abroad. The ship drowned and they swam till they reach an isolated island. They decided to cultivate the land to find food till they are found.
One day, someone discovered a gold mine. He called the entire group to join him. All of them went to find the gold and forgot about farming the land. When winter approached they discovered that they had no food. They realized their mistake.
Turn failure into success
In the way, you would find a lot of obstacles and problems, but most importantly don no let despair prevails over your life. Try to break the rock of despair before it breaks you and turn it into a paved road to success. “There will always be rocks in the road ahead of us. They will be stumbling blocks or stepping stones; it all depends on how you use them.”― Friedrich Nietzsche
Thomas Edison, one of the most prominent inventors in the world who face a lot of obstacles and failed many times, once said,” Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.” – Thomas A. Edison
I once read a story about a Dutch farmer named Van Kluivert who immigrated to South Africa to search for a better life. He had sold all his possessions in the Netherlands in the hope of buying a fertile land in Africa to turn it into a huge farm. Because of his ignorance, it turned out that he paid all the money in a barren land unfit for cultivation. He also discovered that it was full of scorpions, snakes and cobras that spit venom. He didn’t give up; he rather began to think how to turn that failure into success. He came up with a brilliant, unexpected idea. He forgot about cultivating the land and used the snakes’ venom to produce natural antidotes.
Because snakes were everywhere and there were no specialists in that field. He worked exclusively in that field. The farm turned to be the largest place that produces vaccine. He didn’t cry over the spilt milk, yet turned his failure into success. To be continued…
General Bishop
Head of the Coptic Orthodox Cultural Center
