126 Sermon Illustrations on Success

Nineteenth-century inventor Gail Borden was obsessed with the idea of condensing food. His first effort, a condensed "meat biscuit," failed miserably. But an ocean voyage gave birth to a better idea. Borden was concerned about the sickly condition of the children on board. Cows on the ship were too seasick to produce healthy milk, and four children died from drinking contaminated milk. Borden was determined to condense milk so that it would be safe and easily transported. After many tries, he devised a vacuum process that removed water from milk. Conditions during the Civil War made the canned milk a success, and Borden made a fortune. His epitaph, inscribed on a tomb the shape of a milk can, was, "I tried and failed; I tried again and again, and succeeded."

A study conducted at the Center for Creative Leadership in Greensboro, NC, showed that a major reason successful people are fired or forced to retire before advancing as far as they were expected is due to their inability to handle anger, especially under pressure.

"One dominant reason underlying the increasing reluctance of Christians to

share their faith with non-Christians pertains to the faith sharing experience

itself. In asking Christians about their witnessing activities, we have found

that nine out of ten individuals who attempt to explain their beliefs and

theology to other people come away from those experiences feeling as if they

have failed. The reality of human behavior is that most people avoid those

activities in which they perceive themselves to be failures. As creatures

seeking pleasure and comfort, we emphasize those dimensions and activities in

which we are most capable and secure. Thus, despite the divine command to

spread the Word, many Christians redirect their energies into areas of

spiritual activity that are more satisfying and in which they are more likely

to achieve success."

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Failure is hard for us to accept.

One of the most prestigious universities in America is Harvard. Its graduates have a reputation for becoming world leaders. A few years back the class Senator Ted Kennedy was in, had a reunion. Many of the classmates wrote personal testimonials of how their lives had turned out.

One testimonial stood out from the others. This man said that he had succeeded in the eyes of the world. He had made a lot of money and wielded power in his industry. Yet he thought of himself as a failure. His marriage had broken up. He was estranged from his children, who didn't talk to him. Several of his kids had drug and money problems. This man had no friends.

His was a sobering story, but one that all of us can relate to to some extent.

Memory is a wonderful thing. Scientists say that the human mind can store as many as 600 memories per second for a lifetime of 75 years without the slightest strain. Experts advise, "Be selective about what's worth remembering!"

Things Christians should remember: the Lord and his blessings, Christ's death on the cross for our sins, the eternal truths of God's Word.

1. We must forget our sins.

2. We must forget ourselves.

3. We must forget our shortcomings.

Fortune Magazine analyzed several hundred successful men. Fortune found these men had failed an average of seven times each before succeeding. Henry Ford failed and went broke five times before he finally succeeded. Babe Ruth may have become famous for seeting a home run record, but he also held the record for strike-outs. Winston Churchill did not become Prime Minister of England until he was 66, after a lifetime of defeats and setbacks.

As Thomas Edison said, when an aide urged him to quit after hundreds of failures on a particular project, "Why quit now? We know at least a hundred things that won't work!"

4. We must forget our successes.

A deacon in a small, midwestern church said, "Change is sin, and we

sin as little as possible around here."

5. We must forget our sorrows.

Danger of giving in to the whims of others, described by Henry Swope:

"I cannot give you the formula for success, but I can give you the formula for failure, which is: Try to please everybody."

#1520

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Napoleon Hill, who studied the lives of many successful people, stated, "I

had the happy privilege of analyzing both Mr. Edison and Mr. Ford, year by

year, over a long period of years, and therefore the opportunity to study them

at close range, so I speak from actual knowledge when I say that I found no

quality save persistence, in either of them, that even remotely suggested the

major source of their stupendous achievements."

#1613

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In actions speak louder than verbs, Herb Miller writes: Two Kentucky Farmers who owned racing stables had developed a keen rivalry. One spring, each of them entered a horse in a local steeplechase. Thinking that a professional rider might help him outdo his friend, one of the farmers engaged a crack jockey. The two horses were neck and neck with a large lead over the rest of the pack at the last fence, but suddenly both fell, unseating their riders.

The professional jockey remounted quickly and rode on to win the race.

Returning triumphantly to the paddock, the jockey found the farmer who had hired him fuming with rage. “What’s the matter?” the jockey asked. “I won, didn’t I?

“Oh yea,” roared the farmer. “You won all right, but you crossed the finish line on the wrong horse.”

In his hurry to remount after the fall, the jockey has jumped on his competitor’s horse.

Success is meaningless unless we are in the right.

Babe Ruth had hit 714 home runs during his baseball career and was playing one of his last major league games. The aging star was playing for the Boston Braves against the Cincinnati Reds. But he was no longer as agile as he had once been. He fumbled the ball and threw badly, and in one inning alone, his errors were responsible for five Cincinnati runs.

As the Babe walked off the field after the third out, booing and catcalls cascaded from the stands. Just then a young boy jumped over the railing onto the playing field. With tears streaking his cheeks, he threw his arms around the legs of his hero.

Ruth didn't hesitate. He picked up the boy, hugged him, and set him down on his feet with a playful pat on the head. Suddenly the booing stopped. In fact, a hush fell over the entire park. In those brief moments, the crowd saw a different kind of hero; a man who in spite of a dismal day on the field could still care about a little boy.

He was no longer being judged by his accomplishments - neither the past successes nor the present failures - but by a completely different standard. Suddenly it was not his works that mattered, but a relationship.

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Another version from Wit & Wisdom, Dec. 1, 2004:

A story of the great Babe Ruth, related by Norman Vincent Peale, tells of kindness given when so badly needed several decades ago. At Babe's career's peak, Peale recalls, Babe although large in stature, was “graceful, even rhythmic, in his motions. When he batted, it was like a symphony of beauty - the crack of the bat on the ball, the run, the tag on base. He hit seven hundred fourteen home runs, and the multitudes loved him.

But Babe Ruth eventually became older, and in his decline, the Yankees traded him to the Boston Braves. In Cincinnati, at one of the Babe's final games, Dr. Peale sat with a large crowd watching the Braves play the Reds. This day, Babe wasn't doing well. Neither was his rhythm intact.

After twice fumbling the ball and several times throwing balls off target, he enabled the Cincinnati Reds to make five runs. At game's end, with head down - and to the booing of fans “who once cheered him riotously” - Babe walked toward the dugout.

By then, over the railing and across the field, came running a small boy, who threw his arms around his hero's knees. Bending down, Babe picked up the boy and after setting him down and tousling his head, walked with him, hand-in-hand off the field. At this a hushed silence fell over the crowd, those present awed by the galvanizing moment. Thus, a small child's kind thoughtfulness ultimately overruled a crowd's cruel thoughtlessness. The child's actions enabled Babe - with head held high and heart unfettered - to exit the playing field with unmitigated dignity.

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Source: Laughter for a Saturday

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Lee Iacocca once asked legendary football coach Vince Lombardi what it took to make a winning team. The book Iacocca records Lombardi’s answer:

“There are a lot of coaches with good ball clubs who know the fundamentals and have plenty of discipline but still don’t win the game. Then you come to the third ingredient: if you’re going to play together as a team, you’ve got to care for one another. You’ve got to love each other. Each player has to be thinking about the next guy and saying to himself: “If I don’t block that man, Paul is going to get his legs broken. I have to do my job well in order that he can do his.”

“The difference between mediocrity and greatness,” Lombardi said that night, “is the feeling these guys have for each other.”

In the healthy church, each Christian learns to care for others. As we take seriously Jesus’ command to “love one another,” we contribute to a winning team.

Best-selling author John Grisham has produced his best novel in years, at least in the judgment of USA Today book reviewer Deirdre Donahue.

“The Testament” is his 10th novel and includes Grisham’s “trademark legal wrangling, zippy plot and engaging minor characters,” Donahue writes, “but there’s a fresh energy and a new element. God.

“‘The Testament’ is unabashedly spiritual without being doctrinaire,” Donahue writes. “The major question he explores: What is needed for a man to live a good and happy life? While characters in previous thrillers have found joy in their offshore bank accounts, faith in God, not legal loopholes, is Grisham’s new answer.”

Perhaps not so new, at least for Grisham personally.

Grisham is a 44-year-old Baptist layman who has taught Sunday school to young couples as well as 4-year-olds. From a theological perspective, he described himself to USA Today as a “moderate Southern Baptist” -- a “minority” within the convention. From his perspective, he said, “There’s no such thing as a liberal Southern Baptist.”

But Grisham, the father of two teens, also has developed a heart for missions, having traveled to Brazil as a volunteer several times in trips coordinated through the Southern Baptist International Mission Board.

“I started going out in 1993 with a church group from my home church in Oxford, Miss.,” he told USA Today. “We went down there for the purpose of constructing a church in this little town sort of in the outback and it was such a rewarding experience that I’ve done it several times since.”

And despite his wealth -- from 110 million books in print, with six of his novels having been made into movies -- Grisham evidences a sense of stewardship.

He and his wife, Renee, “measure the success of the year on how much we give away,” Grisham told USA Today. They have set up a foundation to oversee their giving -- “the bulk of it goes to church and related activities” -- to which “the kids have said, ‘Look, don’t give it all away.’”

Grisham’s missions experiences surface in The Testament.

Brazil is the setting into which his lead character, Nate O’Reilly, is thrust. An attorney battered by life in the fast lane, O’Reilly is hired to search for missionary Rachel Lane, who has been left the bulk of a billionaire’s fortune. The billionaire has committed suicide and, as a shocker to his six spoiled children and three ex-wives, he left his wealth to Lane, an illegitimate daughter none of his greedy clan knew about.

As Grisham explained to USA Today, “Nate tried power and women and booze and drugs and the fast life and all the good things that money can buy. He’s crashed and burned four times in 10 years and it’s obvious he can’t save himself. I wanted to take a guy like that and sort of follow him on a kind of spiritual journey, his quest for a spiritual cure. ... I was challenged by the goal of seeing if I could make such a spiritual journey work in a popular novel, in commercial fiction.”

Dale Hanson Bourke, publisher of Religion News Service, writes that Grisham is “a man of faith who has steadily introduced struggles between good and evil, materialism and spirituality into his recent novels.”

“In ‘The Testament’ (Doubleday), Grisham has finally tipped the balance toward a story that is more about faith than law, more a study of grace than legalism,” Bourke writes. “He has managed to do this in a way that still produces a ‘good read’ while offering an unabashed introduction to the Christian faith.”

The comedy film "Cool Runnings" is about the first Jamaican bobsled team to go to the Olympics. John Candy plays a former American gold medalist who becomes a coach to the Jamaican team. The players grow to like the American coach and affectionately dub him "Sled-God."

Later in the story, the coach's dark history comes out. In the Olympics following his gold medal performance, he broke the rules by weighting the U.S. sled, bringing disgrace on himself and his team.

One of the Jamaican bobsledders could not understand why anyone who had already won a gold medal would cheat. Finally he nervously asked Candy to explain.

"I had to win," said the coach. "I learned something. If you are not happy without a gold medal, you won't be happy with it."

Man o’ War is considered one of the best racehorses of all time. The only one that comes close is Secretariat, and most experts still say Man ‘o War was better. He only raced in 1919 and 1920 but he won 20 out of 21 races. He won one race by an incredible 100 lengths. He triumphed in another even though they made him carry an extra 138 pounds to make it more fair.

In 1921, a Texas oil millionaire, William Waggoner, offered $500,000 for Man o’ War. That would be around $6,000,000 in 2015. Riddle turned him down, as he did when Waggoner increased his offer again, first to $1 million and then a blank check. “The colt is not for sale,” he said. That is how valuable he was.

How much time did Man o’ War actually spend racing? Over his entire career, it was less than 33 minutes. He trained day after day, month after month, and only raced for half an hour. Man o’ War only raced well because he plodded well.

The most significant times in our lives will not be the triumphs and successes. It will be the continuous steady effort in your everyday life. Do the little things well. Do them as if everything depended on it. As Solomon said in Ecclesiastes 9:10, “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might.”

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This illustration was inspired by an observation by Rev. Dr. W. A. Criswell in his sermon “Twas The Day After Christmas: Religion In The Letdown,” December 26, 1954; it is Kerux Sermon #23352. Other facts were taken from the article “Man o’ War came close to perfection,” by Larry Schwartz, ESPN; .

The calculations on his total racing time was derived from “Man o' War: Complete Racing Record,” .

Are you SPECIAL? To anyone besides your mother? I think all of us want to be significant in life. Not that we are better than anyone else, necessarily, but more than just another driver on the freeway, more than a featureless form moving through the checkout line. We want to matter, to be significant. We want others to care about us -- personally and individually. We each want to be loved. When I was a student at Wheaton College one assignment was to attend a meeting of Rev. Jesse Jackson's "Operation P.U.S.H." in downtown Chicago. We watched as everyone chanted with the preacher,

"I! AM! SOMEBODY!!"

Who doesn't want to believe this?

Margery Williams goes to the heart of this human hunger in her classic children's book, "THE VELVETEEN RABBIT." Williams pictures the stuffed toys talking among themselves in an effort to learn the secret of becoming "real."

"What is Real?" asked the Rabbit one day, when they were

lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nana

came to tidy the room. "Does it mean having things that

buzz inside you and a stickout handle?"

"Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse.

"It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves

you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but

really loves you, then you become Real."

"It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin

Horse. "You become. It takes a long time. That's why

it doesn't often happen to people who break easily, or

have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept.

Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair

has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get

loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things

don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't

be ugly, except to people who don't understand.

(The Velveteen Rabbit; New York: Holt, Rinehart &

Winston, 1983).

That's precisely what is behind most modern activity, behind most of the wild rush of the fast lane: we, too, are desperately trying to become "Real." There is an ache in modern souls to count, to leave a mark on life. The sad thing is, unlike Margery Williams' Skin Horse many people today don't seem to know how to become Real - it is love, deep and genuine love, that makes us Real. God knows that. He made us. That's why the core of the good news for humans has always been, "For God loved the world so much that He gave his only Son so that anyone who believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16, Living Bible).

God doesn't care how successful or famous you are. As a matter of fact, these things are usually a hindrance. God wants you to acknowledge his claim on you, to accept his love for you. His love is so powerful that nothing - NOTHING - can ever separate us from it (Romans 8:35-38). Only God can make us really Real and he will never disappoint us.

[see #4335 for original article summary]

Some of the greatest success stories of history have followed a word of encouragement or an act of confidence by a loved one or a trusting friend. Had it not been for a confident wife, Sophia, we might not have listed among the great names of literature the name of Nathaniel Hawthorne. When Nathaniel, a heartbroken man, went home to tell his wife that he was a failure and had been fired from his job in a customhouse, she surprised him with an exclamation of joy.

“Now,” she said triumphantly, “you can write your book!”

“Yes,” replied the man, with sagging confidence, “and what shall we live on while I am writing it?”

To his amazement, she opened a drawer and pulled out a substantial amount of money.

“Where on earth did you get that?” he exclaimed.

“I have always known you were a man of genius,” she told him. “I knew that someday you would write a masterpiece. So every week, out of the money you gave me for housekeeping, I saved a little bit. So here is enough to last us for one whole year.”

From her trust and confidence came one of the greatest novels of American literature, THE SCARLET LETTER.

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By Nido Qubein, from Chicken Soup for the Soul, Copyright 1993 by Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen

I had flown into Dallas for the sole purpose of calling on one client. Time was of the essence, and my plan included a quick turnaround trip from and back to the airport. A spotless cab pulled up. The driver rushed to open the passenger door for me and made sure I was comfortably seated before he closed it. As he got into the driver’s seat, he mentioned that the neatly folded Wall Street Journal next to me was for my use. He then showed me several tapes and asked me what type of music I would enjoy. Well! I looked around to see if I was on Candid Camera. Wouldn’t you? I could not believe the service I was receiving. “Obviously you take great pride in your work,” I said to the driver. “You must have a story to tell.”

He did. “I used to be in Corporate America,” he began. “But I got tired of thinking my best would never be good enough, fast enough, or appreciated enough. I decided to find my niche in life where I could feel proud of being the best I could be. I knew I would never be a rocket scientist, but I love driving cars, being of service and feeling like I have done a full day’s work and done it well.”

After evaluating his personal assets, he decided to become a cab driver. “Not just a regular taxi hack,” he continued, “but a professional cab driver. One thing I know for sure, to be good in my business I could simply just meet the expectations of my passengers. But to be great in my business, I’d have to exceed the customer’s expectations. I like the sound of being ‘great’ better than just getting by on ‘average.’”

Did I tip him big time? You bet. Corporate America’s loss is the traveling folks’ gain!

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Petey Parker, from Chicken Soup for the Soul at Work, Copyright 1996 by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Maida Rogerson, Martin Rutte & Tim Clauss

THE QUESTION: What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?

Robert Schuller

Religious leader

Cited in BITS & PIECES

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One of the key characteristics of successful people is how they view failure. Successful people rarely see failure as fatal; they see it as feedback. When they don't get the desired result, they learn from the experience and try, try, again.

The most successful authors, inventors, actors, etc., have developed the ability to deal with massive amounts of rejection. High achievers rarely think of failure as an end in itself. Instead, they believe in delayed success. A loser says, "I can't do it," while a winner says, "I can't do it yet."

Rob Gilbert

Editor, Bits & Pieces

Cited in More of...the Best of BITS & PIECES

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"Success, not failure, is the greatest danger facing any follower of God, as Moses knew well. He had traipsed around a desert for forty years as a penalty for the Hebrews’ inability to handle the success of the Exodus. Every significant downfall in his own life came when he seized power for himself - killing an Egyptian, smashing a rock in the desert - rather than relying on God."

(Philip Yancey, "The Bible Jesus Read", p.89)

"Success is not a destination: It is a journey. The happiest people I know are those who are busy working toward specific objectives. The most bored and miserable people I know are those who are drifting along with no worthwhile objectives in mind."

Zig Ziglar

Professional speaker

Cited in BITS & PIECES

Cynthia Kersey has written a book on successful small-business entrepreneurs. "Unstoppable" is written for those with dreams but who've been discouraged by the nags of naysaying. Kersey profiles 45 small-business owners who've overcome every obstacle in their journey to fulfill their dream.

Seven common factors appear in each of these success stories:

a. They followed their hearts!

b. They were devoted to their goal!

c. They believed in themselves!

d. They prepared for/anticipated challenges!

e. They accepted help/built a support team!

f. They sought creative solutions!

g. They persevered to the end!

[Unstoppable, published by Cynthia Kersey & Associates)

Application: I am continually astonished at the world's propensity to co-opt biblical principles and concepts without attribution. Kersey may have written a fine book but her material is not original, to her or any other latter-day social scientist.

Jethro offered Moses a lesson in "span-of-control" and hierarchical leadership models long before the first French management specialist supposedly originated the idea. Joseph demonstrated ethics in his workplace, long before Bill Clinton fail to do so in his and started a whole industry of business ethicists. And Jesus, well His lessons on perseverance are legend. These are just a few of the many examples to be gleaned from the Testaments. Yet Paul told us the world knows the Law of God instinctively. [Romans 2:14-16]

Each of Kersey's seven observations are well documented in the God's Word:

a. God tells us our hearts are the seats of the motivation to do good

or evil; where our treasure is our heats will follow.

b. We are taught we are to set our minds of things above, eternal

goals.

c. The Bible says a wee small voice will guide us, and while listening

to that voice we are to trust ourselves to Him.

d. The parable of the ten virgins teaches us to prepare; we are told

that we should anticipate tribulations in this world.

e. Paul said we should be united in the bonds of peace, that we should

work together, and that we should consider the interests of

others as more important than our own.

f. We are taught not to fear man but God and that all things are

lawful but not all things are profitable.

g. Certainly the letters to the seven churches in Revelation

challenge us to persevere.

It occurs to me that the business world would benefit greatly by requiring all first year business and management students to take a course in biblical business and management principles.

Source/Attribution: John Gillmartin

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A dozen disciplines for success

• self-confidence

• sentiment

• Negative emotions: jealousy, etc.

• Intercede with Grace

Daily dozen disciplines for massive success in 2000 and beyond: The following is a list of the Daily Disciplines you will want to apply for the next 30 days.

For Mental Development:

Take the negative input out of your life. !

1. Read at least 15 minutes from an empowering & uplifting book… The Key words are Empowering & Uplifting. The Madonna & Dennis Rodman books don’t count as well as most of the Novels that are out there… Did you know that research has found that 58% of High School graduates never read another book from cover to cover the rest of their adult life. Approximately 78% of the population have not been in a book store in the last 5 years, and that a full 97% of the population in the United States do not have a Library Card… How much easier can it get than free? The Average child spends less than 1% of their free time reading and about 54% of their free time in front of the Television (either watching it or playing video games)… Speaking of TV, that’s the next point… Turn it Off!

2. That’s right, for those of you who are paying attention, #2 is Unplug your TV… Now wait a second… before you get too excited let me make a quick point… If your company offers a Satellite program that has training and company information on it, of course you can watch that… Just stay away from the Sitcoms, the Movie Channels, and especially the News… Please stay away from the News… What if you miss something important you may ask. Trust me, if something really important happens, you don’t have to watch the news to find out about it… Someone will call and let you know soon enough… OK, let’s move on to the next point.

3. Listen to a Tape… One that Educates & Empowers… This means Turn off the Radio and turn on the Audio when you’re driving in your vehicle… Turn your automobile into a Moving University.

4. Don’t read the Newspaper… The Newspaper publishers understand that Negativity sells so that tends to be the first thing you see on the Cover and woven throughout the Newspapers… Stay away from this.

5. Read your Goals & Affirmations. Get clear about what you want to create in your life and affirm it daily.

6. Limit or Disassociate from negative people… I remember Les Brown saying that there are Toxic Relationships and there are Nourishing Relationships… The Toxic Relationships are Poisonous and can drain you of every bit of energy you have… And trust me, if you want to be massively successful in this business, you are going to need plenty of Energy… Speaking of Energy let’s move on to a couple of points that could help out in that Area…

For Physical Development:

7. Exercise… Do something. Walk, take the stairs, park a little further away than usual, go to the gym, etc.

8. Drink Plenty of Distilled Water… Go for 8 — 12oz. Glasses per day. You will be surprised of the Health benefits you will derive just from drinking plenty of water…

For Business Development:

9. Use your Product Daily… You want to become your own best customer and you want to personally get the benefits your product offers on a daily basis… Don’t expect anyone else in your organization to do it if you’re not.

10. Add One New Name to your List. Everyday you should be talking to people. Forget about them joining your opportunity or buying your products… Just think about meeting new friends.

11. Expose the Opportunity or Conduct a Follow-Up

12. Give a positive story or word of encouragement to someone in your Success Team (Downline) or Support Team (Upline)… Just include something positive everyday… Say something that shows respect, appreciation, approval, and so on… It could be with a Card, A little Note, A Fax, an E-mail, or by using a Voice Communication system you may have set up with your organization.

Here’s a Bonus one which will make it a Baker’s Dozen:

Take a few moments to just be alone without other disturbances and distractions around… Even if you have to go in your closet… Or take a nice hot bath… Meditate, Seek Wisdom, Courage, Forgiveness, Pray… Give Thanks & Gratitude for already having accomplished that which you want… Call it your Quiet Time or your Spiritual Time or whatever you want… The point is just to spend some time connecting with whatever you want to connect with… Focus on the positive because what you Focus on will expand.

Well, that’s the “Daily Dozen”… Baker’s Dozen that is…

I shared the Daily Dozen with a guy who said they wanted to get their Bonus Check up & he said “Jerry, that sounds nice and I think it could even work but I just don’t like to read.” I said, “Where did you hear me say that you have to Like to Read… I didn’t say that, I don’t think it says that in your distributor Manual, I’m sure your Support Team Leaders didn’t tell you that… You don’t have to like to read… That’s Optional… You just have to read… In fact, you don’t have to like none of what I’ve mentioned. Always remember that the requirement is not that you like it, but that you do it… If you repeat the Simple Discipline of the Daily Dozen for the next 30 days, it will help you develop new Habits… Habits that will be conducive to you getting what you want from life… And here’s an insight: First we make our Habits, and then our Habits make us…

Until next time

Go, Go, Go

PS. Remember you don’t have to like this to get the results, you simply have to do it!

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Questions to Ponder

• What meaningful actions can I take today.

• To help a friend?

• To solve a problem?

• To improve my business?

• To help me reach my goals?

[Original illustration at this number was a duplicate of HolwickID #6216]

I believe there are three kinds of people. There are winners, who know what they want and understand their potential and the possibilities. They take life on. Next are losers, who don’t have a clue as to who they are. They allow circumstances to shape their lives and their self-image.

I believe there is a third group as well. This consists of potential winners whose lives are just slightly out of alignment. I call them wayward winners. It may be that they just need to learn how to be real winners. Perhaps they’ve hit a bump or two that has knocked them off course and they are temporarily befuddled. A failed relationship, a lost job, financial problems, unformed goals, a lack of parental support, illness, many things can send us off course temporarily.

Wayward winners are not lost souls; they just need some tweaking and coaching and nudging to get them back on course. A map might be nice. Many of these wayward winners are easily identifiable because they are always searching.

Right now, there are many wayward winners out there braving rain, sleet and snow because they too still believe that they have untapped talents. They attend motivational seminars and listen to inspirational tapes and they plunge onward, believing that sooner or later they will find their way again.

Other wayward winners have temporarily given up. They are damaged and disoriented, their confidence badly eroded. They tend to drift through life numbly. The friends and relatives and loved ones of wayward winners see that they are out of sync and wonder why they can’t be satisfied, why they don’t settle down. They wonder how people who have such obvious abilities and great potential can be so disoriented and unsure.

It is difficult for others to understand the rawness of a broken heart or the aching emptiness of an unguided spirit. You and I know. We have been there. Wayward winners know that there are possibilities out there, but too often they feel locked out from them. Some are afraid to risk any more because of what they have risked and lost already.

I know now that as difficult as it may be for you wayward winners to do, it is necessary to continue to test yourselves. Even though you have been hurt before, it is the only way to grow. We all have the capacity to change, to lead meaningful and productive lives by awakening our consciousness.

You know there are going to be tough times as you go about changing your life, so brace yourself and you will be able to handle them. When you get into your seat on an airplane, what is the first thing they tell you to do? Fasten your seat belt. Brace yourself for the turbulence.

When you decide to move your life to the next level of accomplishment, you must fasten your mental and spiritual seat belts because it is going to be a while before you reach that comfortable level again. You will reach it, but you must endure the turbulence of change in order to grow.

Try this technique to help you through the difficult times of change and growth. Find four reasons why you cannot succumb to your fears and your troubles. Find those deep sources of motivation that can lift you out of the turbulence and above the clouds. You must change your life because, for example:

• You have not yet tapped the talents given you.

• You want to leave something more for your children.

• You want to live life rather than letting life live you.

• You want to do what makes you happy.

It is in these rocky early moments of bringing change to your life that you discover who you are. In the prosperous times, you build what is in your pocket. In the tough times, you strengthen what is in your heart. And that is when you gain insight into yourself, insight that leads to self-mastery and an expansion of your consciousness as a life force in both your personal and professional lives.

An Indian brave found an egg that had been laid by an eagle. Not being able to return the egg to an eagle's nest, the next best thing to do was to put it in the nest of a prairie chicken. The result was predictable. The hen sat on this eagle's egg, along with her own eggs, knowing nothing of the addition. By and by the little eaglet was hatched alongside the prairie chickens.

All his life, the changeling eagle, thinking he was a prairie chicken, did what the prairie chickens did. He scratched in the dirt for seeds and insects to eat. He clucked and cackled. And he flew in a brief thrashing of wings and flurry of feathers no more than a few feet off the ground. After all, that's how prairie chickens were supposed to fly.

Years passed. And the changeling eagle grew very old. One day, he saw a magnificent bird far above him in the cloudless sky. Hanging with graceful majesty on the powerful wind currents, it soared with scarcely a beat of its strong golden wings.

"What a beautiful bird!" said the eagle to his neighbor. "What is it?"

"That's an eagle -- the chief of the birds," the neighbor clucked. "But don't give it a second thought. You could never be like him."

So the changeling eagle never gave it another thought. And it died thinking it was a prairie chicken.

________________________

Living on the Ragged Edge by Charles Swindoll, page 283 (taken from the Pursuit of Excellence by Ted W. Engstrom)

A LATE AWAKENING

He always said he would retire When he had made a million clear, And

so he toiled into the dusk From day to day, from year to year.

At last he put his ledgers up And laid his stock reports aside - But

when he started out to live He found he had ALREADY DIED!

Topics: The Road to Success See Also: \reference{Romans 5}{Romans 5};

\reference{James 1}{James 1}

A seeker approached the guru and implored, "Please, Teacher,

show me the way to success in life."

Silently, passively, the guru pointed to the path that went

off the left.

She followed the guru's direction and walked boldly down the

path. Just as she rounded a wall and approached an opening in the

cliff she was smashed with a big "Splat!"

She wondered what she had done wrong! She had followed the

guru's instructions. She had walked the narrow path to the left.

Still, instead of finding success she found Splat!

Battered and bruised, she made her way back up the path to the

guru. "Teacher, I have misunderstood your previous instructions and

have taken the wrong path to success. Please, show me the path to

success."

The guru said nothing. He didn't blink. He didn't move. He

raised a finger and once again pointed to the path to the left.

She stared down the path and looked back to the guru. He was

unblinking, unmoving and passive. His finger pointed left.

She gulped, took a deep breath and once again set out on the

path to success. She walked gingerly, watching for potential hazards

along the way. Her last trip down this path had taught her a lesson.

She wouldn't repeat the same mistake twice.

This time she negotiated the cliff and the opening. Through

the opening she entered into a broad mesa. Before venturing out onto

the mesa she scanned the area for potential danger.

Satisfied that all was clear, she ventured out. She had gone

only a few steps when once again, she was clobbered by a huge Splat!

Bloodied and bruised, she dragged herself back the way she had

come to the guru. This time she was angry. She returned to the place

of her previous instruction. Raising herself up to her full height,

she grabbed the guru around the collar got in his face and shouted.

"Enough of your tricks. I came here to discover the path to success.

So help me I swear by the heavens that if you dare to point left I'll

tear you limb from limb. Now tell me, which is the path to success?"

The guru was no fool. After all, he was a guru and widely

renowned for his wisdom. He thought for a moment, hesitated and then

delicately poked a chubby finger in the direction of the path to the

left.

"I've been down that road twice now and there's nothing there!

You're a sham, a fake, a phony and a liar! Each time I've listened to

you I've gotten Splat! Tell me, where along that treacherous path will

I find success?"

"You'll find it just past Splat!" Source: Heard on the "Dr. Laura" talk show, January 7, 1997