Failure – the stepping stones to success

Lincoln was born in 1809 in a primitive log cabin in what was then known as Hardin County, Kentucky. His father was an illiterate, wandering laborer, his mother a frail sickly woman. They were forced out of their home when he was only seven. His poor mother died when he was nine.

He had virtually no formal schooling. He first attempted a career in business in 1831 and failed miserably. A year later he ran for state legislature unsuccessfully. That same year he lost his job and applied to law school but was laughed out of consideration because of his miserable qualifications.

Not long after that humiliating ordeal, he started another business using money he borrowed from a close friend. Before the year closed, however, that business faded and failed. Lincoln claimed bankruptcy and spent the next seventeen years paying off debt.

In 1835 he fell deeply in love with Ann Rutledge, only to have his heart broken when she died soon after their engagement. The following year he had a complete nervous breakdown and spent the next six months in bed recovering.

In 1838 he sought to become speaker of the state legislature and was defeated.

In 1840, two years later, he sought to become the elector of the state, and was defeated.

Three years later he ran for Congress and lost.

In 1846 he ran again for Congress and won. Only two years later he ran for reelection and was soundly defeated.

In 1849 he sought the job of land officer in his home state but was rejected.

In 1854 he ran for the Senate of the United States. Again, he lost.

In 1856 he sought the vice-presidential nomination at his party’s national convention. He got less than one hundred votes, suffering yet another embarrassing defeat.

In 1858 he ran for the U.S. Senate and lost again.

Finally in 1860 Abraham Lincoln was elected to the presidency of the United States and soon after endured the most devastating war our country has ever experienced. His perseverance rewarded him with unprecedented political success, and he was reelected for a second term.

Sadly, only five days after Lee surrendered, on the fourteenth of April 1865, Lincoln was assassinated. He was dead before reaching sixty years of age.

— except from Paul, a man of grace and grit, by Charles Swindoll.

The Likely Cause of Addiction Has Been Discovered, and It Is Not What You Think | Johann Hari

This is a thought provoking article:

what I learned on the road is that almost everything we have been told about addiction is wrong — and there is a very different story waiting for us, if only we are ready to hear it.

Complete article here –> The Likely Cause of Addiction Has Been Discovered, and It Is Not What You Think | Johann Hari.

Contemplating Christmas as the World Sleeps

It’s 3 a.m. Christmas morning. The house is eerily silent, everyone soundly asleep, including the dog. After several hours lying in bed in a dark, silent room, kept awake by thoughts of Christmas racing through my head, I finally decide to put a few of those thoughts into words.

At this time of year there is so much conversation and antagonism over the religious significance of Christmas, or how commercialism is destroying it; yet every year I find that it’s thoughts of family that fill me to near over-flowing with emotion.

I think of Christmas past and those who are now only a part of Christmas via my memories—and yet, they are still a part of every Christmas. My wife’s parents have both passed on. My grandparents as well. Remembering my grandfather laughing until I thought he would pass out over a game of dominoes. Grandma making her “famous” pecan pie, while a small army of kids raced through the house with new toys they had just opened.

I also remember Christmas past—but not so far past—when my kids were little. They were always the first to wake and make sure we didn’t sleep past sun up. While I would try to make coffee in my half-awake state of mind, they would gather around the tree nearly bursting with excitement. We always read the Christmas story from the Bible together before opening gifts. I always got to help them assemble, get batteries into, or learn how to use their new toys while mom fixed breakfast.

I haven’t seen most of those kids for over 6 years. Now they celebrate Christmas with their own families thousands of miles away with grandchildren whom I’ve never met—and yet, they too, are still a part of my Christmas every year.

So this Christmas eve, there was no huge gathering of family and friends. It was my wife and I, two sons, a daughter-in-law and a future daughter-in-law. We watched a really bad movie, played card games and laughed at each other. We ate tacos and cheese balls and buffalo dip—and it was magical. It was, for me, the very essence of what Christmas has always been about for as long as I can remember.

So while I share a wonderful intimate evening with a few of the people I care most about in this world, and who I feel so blessed and grateful to have been allowed to share life with, I am at the same time emotionally connected through my memories to all the people who are an vital part of what Christmas means to me—those who have passed on and those who are far away.

And so as this Christmas day dawns in a few hours, we will gather in the living room and partake in the annual tradition of exchanging gifts. Parents, siblings, and children will gather in our home for the traditional Christmas dinner. But when all the dishes are done, the wrappings are taken to the trash, the tree and decorations are taken down, it will be the memories of time well-spent with the ones I love that I will remember and cherish for the rest of my life.  Not a separate set of memories, but adding to and building upon a collective set of memories and experiences that grows deeper, broader, and richer each year—past, present and future all merging into one collective emotional experience.

Family is the greatest gift I’ve ever been given, and those bonds are forged anew during the Christmas season like no other time of the year. So while others around me carry on with their petty Christmas arguments, I’d like to go on record as stating that Christmas is a most special time of year for me. No one—neither Christian nor atheist—will ever be able to rob me of the joy of Christmas.

So here’s wishing everyone who reads this a most wonderful and “magical” Christmas season, and may both the family present with you and the family remembered, enrich your lives in a most remarkable way.

Merry Christmas to one and all.

The True Meaning of Christmas

I get it that some of my friends want everything to be about religion – and I’m okay with that.  But I have a lot of friends who aren’t religious, and some that are religious but not Christian.  When you peel everything away and get down to what we all have in common, this guy nailed it.

Whether you’re Christian or not, celebrate life with friends and family this year and tell them how much they mean to you, because you may never get that opportunity again.

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Source:
http://www.cracked.com/blog/the-true-meaning-christmas-that-everyone-forgets/

Plus-Size Woman Had Her Picture Photoshopped

Huff Post published an article about a plus-sized woman who paid fashion editors all over the world to Photoshop her photo and make her more beautiful (presumably to make the point that plus-sized women can be beautiful too).

I’m growing exasperated with the whole conversation–and not just the Hollywood angle; I’m also tired of those beating the drum about how everyone is beautiful “just as you are.”

How about we quit lying to ourselves. Not everybody possesses physical beauty.  Whether you’re in the “you need to make yourself beautiful” camp, or the “you’re already beautiful” camp, your still peddling the notion that physical beauty is the thing that matters most. 

How about we start peddling the notion that character matters most? Are you kind, selfless, generous, honest, have a sense of humour, inspiring, have integrity, hard working, etc.  There are scores of things that matter more than what you look like – and, let’s face it, even if you were born with physical beauty, it’s going to fade quickly. Your character stays with you forever, and can even improve as you age. Let’s change the conversation, shall we?