The Blessings of Failure Napoleon Hill

Failure sometimes becomes a blessing, when it turns one back from contemplated purposes which would mean embarrassment – or even total destruction had they been carried out.

Failure often opens new doors to opportunity, and provides one with useful knowledge of the realities of life by the trial-and-error method. It also frequently reveals methods and plans which will not work, and cures vain people of their conceit.

The British suffered grave defeat and failure when Lord Cornwallis surrendered to the Americans, giving the colonies their freedom. But without such freedom, America wouldn’t have had the strength to help save the British Empire from destruction in World Wars I and II.

The War Between the States impoverished the Southern States for several decades. But the law of compensation is now balancing the budget on his old score by moving Northern Industry to the South so rapidly that the people are receiving compound interest on the war’s toll of pride and possessions.

Somehow the law of compensation has a very long arm and a very sound memory, plus a wonderful bookkeeping system, and sooner or later all debts must be paid and all wrongs must be righted, among whole communities as well as among individuals.

I felt that I suffered and irreparable loss when my name did not appear in the will of a wealthy great-uncle who left his fortune to closer relatives. But that turned out to be one of the many great blessings that came my way through defeat and failure. Not receiving any of that money forced me to work out my own economic destiny, and in doing so I was fortunate enough to have discovered the way to success for other people throughout the world.

The failures of Abraham Lincoln in store-keeping, surveying, soldiering, and the practice of law had only the effect of preparing him to lead our people through their worst crisis in the War Between the States. Lincoln became great because his mental attitude was such that his struggles led him to a source of power we would not have known without his unpleasant experiences.

Milo C. Jones made a bare living from his farm near Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin until he was stricken down by double paralysis and suffered a total loss of the use of his body except the most important part – his brain.

His affliction forced him to the discovery and use of that brain so effectively that it came up with an idea that yielded him over a million dollars from the same farm which had previously made only a modest living. He converted the farm into the raising of corn, fed the corn to hogs, and turned them into “Little Pig” sausage which made a name for itself throughout America.

Failure in physical health sometimes diverts an individual’s attention from his body to his brain, and introduces him to the real “boss” of the physical body, the mind, and opens wide horizons of opportunity he never would have known with the failure.

Failure usually affects people in one or the other of two ways: It serves only as a challenge to greater effort, as in Lincoln’s case, or it subdues and discourages one from making another try.

The majority of people give up hope and quit at the first signs of failure, even before it catches up with them. And a large percentage of people quit when they are overtaken by only one failure, be it ever so trifling.

The potential leader never is subdued by failure, but is inspired to greater effort by it. Watch your reaction to your failures and you will know if you have the potentialities for leadership.

If you can keep on trying after three failures in a given undertaking, you may consider yourself a “suspect” as a leader in your present occupation. If you can keep on trying after a dozen failures, the seed of genius is sprouting within you. Give it the sunshine of Hope and Faith and watch it grow into great personal achievements.

It appears that Nature often knocks individuals down with adversity in order to learn who among them will get up and make another fight.

The world generously forgives one for his mistakes and temporary defeats provided that he accepts them as a challenge and keeps on trying, but there is no forgiveness for the sin of quitting when the going is hard.

Source: Success Unlimited. February, 1965. Vol. 12, No. 2. Pgs. 10 & 11.