Failing forward

I read this book entitled “Failing Forward” by John C. Maxwell. My best friend said the book is piece of crap and told me that this dude just compiled whatever other people have said – centuries ago. However, for me this book tends to aprovide some insights in overcoming failures and achieving success in life. Some of the extracts from the book:

“One of the greatest problems people have with failure is that they are too quick to judge isolated situations in their lives and label them as failures. Instead, they need to keep the bigger picture in mind.”

“Failure is simply a price we pay to achieve success.”

“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up”

The author stressed that people become wiser through failures. He gave real life examples of individuals who initially go through tough times in life in order to achieve success. He wrote about Truett Cathy, the founder of the Chick-fil-A restaurant chain. Truett, as a second grader, bought six-pack of Cokes for a quarter and sold for a nickel a can and make a 20 percent profit. When the weather turned cold and drink sales lagged, he sold magazines. Together with his brother Ben, they opened a restaurant Dwarf House in Hapeville, Georgia. Truett then faced major setbacks in life. First, both of his brothers died in a small private plane crash. Losing a business partner is tough but losing both brothers was horrible. Then, his second restaurant was destroyed in a fire. Truett faced another debilitating setback. He had polyps in his colon and went for surgery. He was out of action for several months. While stuck in hospital bed, he came up with a million dollar idea – he loved chicken and so he thought how chicken breast, seasoned and fried just right and put in a bun with the right condiments would do wonders. The answer became the Chick-fil-A Sandwich, one of the largest privately owned restaurant chains in the world.

Individuals must have high ambition and not just be average in life for them to be successful later. Of course, courage and resilience as well as hard working should accompany ambitions.