Lincoln was a champion and he never gave up. Here is a sketch of Lincoln’s road to the White House:
- 1816 His family was forced out of their home. He had to work to support them.
- 1818 His mother died.
- 1831 Failed in business.
- 1832 Ran for state legislature – lost.
- 1832 Also lost his job – wanted to go to law school but couldn’t get in.
- 1833 Borrowed some money from a friend to begin a business and by the end of the year he was bankrupt. He spent the next 17 years of his life paying off this debt.
- 1834 Ran for state legislature again – won.
- 1835 Was engaged to be married, sweetheart died and his heart was broken.
- 1836 Had a total nervous breakdown and was in bed for six months.
- 1838 Sought to become speaker of the state legislature – defeated.
- 1840 Sought to become elector – defeated.
- 1843 Ran for Congress – lost.
- 1846 Ran for Congress again – this time he won – went to Washington and did a good job.
- 1848 Ran for re-election to Congress – lost.
- 1849 Sought the job of land officer in his home state – rejected.
- 1854 Ran for Senate of the United States – lost.
- 1856 Sought the Vice-Presidential nomination at his party’s national convention – got less than 100 votes.
- 1858 Ran for U.S. Senate again – again he lost.
- 1860 Elected president of the United States. (from Roger Kapp website)
Lincoln could have gotten conservative and taken fewer risks..but he didn’t.
Lincoln did not back down..he kept working toward his goal..President of the United States of America.
Mike Foster of “People of the Second Chance” explains it this way:
After we have failed the tendency is to retreat into living a small life. Less risk. Safer moves. Fear based decisions.I love losers! Because we are all losers. Failure IS AN OPTION..BUT FEAR IS NOT!
I call it “Living Little” and it is a nasty thing. It’s a perfectly natural response after a failure but you’ve got to fight it.
If we live little we think we will avoid personal pain or prevent causing others pain due to our mistakes. Don’t fall for this type of thinking.
I totally embrace what James Cameron(Avatar, Titanic) had to say…
“Don’t put limitations on yourself. Other people will do that for you…failure has to be an option in art and exploration because it’s a leap of faith. In whatever you’re doing, failure is an option, but fear is not.”
People of the Second Chance don’t live little.
- How will you live after failure?
- Big? or Little?
I lost in our school's students' union executive elections, held today, too..
I try in two positions... lost in two.. :D
"It ain't about how hard you hit it. It's about how much you can get hit.
And keep moving forward.
It ain't about how long you can stand not taking a break. It's about how many times you get back after beating down.
Yeah, that's how winning is done." -Mohammad Ali
