Close Close
Sign In
Newsletters
Popular Financial Topics Discover relevant content from across the suite of ALM legal publications From the Industry More content from ThinkAdvisor and select sponsors Investment Advisor Issue Gallery Read digital editions of Investment Advisor Magazine Tax Facts Get clear, current, and reliable answers to pressing tax questions
Luminaries Awards
Podcast Center Video Center Webcasts Resource Center Events
About ThinkAdvisor Contact Us Advertise With Us Asset & Logo Licensing Sitemap Terms of Service Privacy Policy Copyright © 2024 ALM Global, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
ThinkAdvisor

Life Health > Life Insurance

President's Day Insight: All Great Success Stories Begin With Failure

By Sandy Schussel

X
Your article was successfully shared with the contacts you provided.

Here’s a slightly updated version of a classic article we first ran on March 22, 2015. Too many of us are afraid that if we try something new or different, we’ll fail. But some of the most successful people failed their way to success. I am reminded of a lesson that can be gleaned from the life of one of the most celebrated U.S. presidents: Failure is always temporary — unless you choose to make it permanent.

For 28 years of his life, Abraham Lincoln experienced one failure after another. In 1833, he had a nervous breakdown. When he ran for speaker of the state legislature in 1838, he was defeated. In 1848, he was not re-nominated to run for Congress. In 1849, his bid to become land officer was rejected.

But these failures didn’t stop him. In 1854, he was defeated in his senatorial run. Two years later, he lost the nomination for vice president, and two years after that, he was again defeated in a run for Senate. Then, in 1860, after this long string of failures, he was nominated for and won the highest office in the land.

Just as courage isn’t the absence of fear (but rather the overcoming of it), success isn’t the absence of failure. Failure is how we learn as we make our way toward success. Success is the result of refusing to quit the journey before we have reached our destination. If you reach for a very high branch, you risk falling hard. But if you keep reaching, you’ll have the chance to climb higher than those who allow their fears to hold them back.

A century and a half after he came to office, Lincoln is still remembered as one of the country’s greatest presidents. Imagine how different things would have been if he had allowed himself to become discouraged. Climbing your tree may result in tired arms and bruised knees. But the more you persist, the more determined you will become and the greater will be the benefit you bring to yourself and others.

— Connect with ThinkAdvisor Life/Health on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Sandy SchusselSandy Schussel has been a coach and practice development consultant for insurance and financial professionals for the past 20 years. He is an approved MDRT coach and has served as the national sales training director for First Investors and Foresters. He is the author of two books, The High Diving Board, about overcoming fear and Become A Client Magnet, about attracting and keeping clients.

NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.