26 Ways to Turn Failure Into Success in 2015 (Part I)

By: Richard Mirpuri

 

Failure is an event. . .it’s not who you are. Failure is never final if you have the God-given desire and direction to change your destiny. Here are the A to Z’s on how to run failure straight into success. A-Admit it when you mess up. The best way to overcome failure is to face it, learn from it and move on. Proverbs 28:13 in The Living Bible says: “A man who refuses to admit his mistakes can never be successful. But if he confesses and forsakes them, he gets another chance.”

B – Boldly refuse to accept failure as final regardless of how badly you may have messed up. On May 29, 1953, Sir Edmond Hillary was the first man to climb Mount Everest. . ..29,000 feet straight up. He was knighted for his efforts. People remember his triumph but few people know that he failed in his first attempt a year earlier. Later he was asked to speak to an audience that recognized his first attempt at greatness. But Edmund Hillary saw himself as a failure. He walked to the edge of the platform, made a fist and pointed at a picture of Mount Everest. Then he said in a loud voice: “Mount Everest, you beat me the first time, but I’ll beat you the next time because you’ve grown all you are going to grow… but I’m still growing!” When you and I can accept failure as a learning experience. . .we can keep growing.
C – Concentrate on what you want to accomplish. Have you ever heard someone say they’re a jack of all trades but a master of none? Such an admission generally means the person generally doesn’t have the ability to concentrate on a single area of need until they master it. 1 Timothy 4:13 in the Amplified Bible says: “Till I come, devote yourself to [public and private] reading, to exhortation (preaching and personal appeals), and to teaching and instilling doctrine.” If the Word of God tells us to do something. . .we should concentrate on accomplishing what the Word tells us to do. One more thing. . .it’s very important that we teach our children a love of reading the Word. Here are five quick but powerful suggestions on getting children and/or grandchildren involved in the Word at a young age.

1 Teach them by example. There is always more caught than taught. If your children see you reading theWord. . .if it’s a priority in your day. . .then it will more likely become a priority for them as well.

2.Ask your children what they’re thinking about. . .do they have questions which you can use the Word to find answers for? Key your Bible reading to their interests and not just yours.

3. Reading the Word together is always a wonderful idea for every family.

4. Buy them their own Bible. . .make sure it’s one they will understand. I strongly recommend not buying your child a King James Bible unless it’s a Study Bible because they’re not going to understand the 17th Century poetic language of that time. If their reading the KJV is more important than them understanding it…the problem may lie with the parent and not the child. I recommend a New Living Translation because it has conversational flow without sacrificing the integrity of the Word. By the way there are some exceptionally good teen aged study bibles these days.

5. A s your children get older, encourage them to use a journal to write down things they’ve learned or whatever sparked their interest in the scripture they’re reading. According to 1 Timothy 4:15 in the Message Bible we’re to concentrate on the Word. This is a real key to our future success. The verse says: “Cultivate these things. Immerse yourself in them. The people will all see you mature right before their eyes!

D – Decide in your heart. . .decree and declare by the words of your mouth. . that your dreams. . .your goals will come to pass despite previous setbacks. Proverbs 3:5-6 in the Amplified Bible says: “Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding. In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths.”

The King James Version of Proverbs 3:6 says: “In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” According to Strong’s Concordance the Hebrew word for acknowledge (H3045) means: “to know by experience; to perceive and see; to recognize, admit, acknowledge, confess” We decree and declare our future success by our confession.

E – Elevate your thinking. Ezra 10:4 in the New Living Translation says: “Get up, for it is your duty to tell us how to proceed in setting things straight. We are behind you, so be strong and take action.” We cannot focus on things that happened yesterday, last week, six months or three years ago. If we do. . .we will always remain the victim. Instead, we must elevate our thinking to concentrate on the good things in our lives, the things that are going right. Albert Einstein once said: “We cannot solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created them.”

F – Free your mind from mistakes of the past. . .bondages of the present and fear of the future. First, we must not recall sinful events for which you’ve been forgiven. . .if you look back and bring them into your remembrance. . .then you’ve allowed the enemy to gain a foothold into your thought process. Second, God not only forgives our sins. . .our mistakes of the past. . .He forgets them as well.

Isaiah 43:25 in the Amplified Bible says: “I, even I, am He Who blots out and cancels your transgressions, for My own sake, and I will not remember your sins.” The Message Bible translation of Isaiah 43:25 says: “But I, yes I, am the one who takes care of your sins—that’s what I do. I don’t keep a list of your sins.” Third and finally, if we want to maximize our potential for the Kingdom now and in 2015, then we must learn how to manifest 2 Corinthians 2:5 in our lives now! “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” Forget the past. . .bring every thought into captivity. . .NOW! (2 Corinthians 10-:3-5) G – Grab a new desire. . .ignite a passion to make things happen instead of waiting for something to happen. First, realize that if what you’ve been doing isn’t working. . .it’s time to do things differently. Second, believe that every promise of God is for you as much as it is for anybody else. Third, learn, study and practice all of our goal-setting techniques.

Fourth, never get defensive over what didn’t work. Instead, brainstorm on ideas that will work. I believe Dr. Ben Carson. wrote this next quote with you in mind. “You have the ability to choose which way you want to go. You have to believe great things are going to happen in your life. Do everything you can – prepare, pray and achieve – to make it happen.”

H – Helping others achieve their dreams. . .will unleash a spiritual dynamic in your life. Two powerful quotes underscore the importance. . .no, the absolute necessity of helping other people. Brain Tracy, the motivational speaker, said: “Successful people are always looking for opportunities to help others. Unsuccessful people are always asking, ‘What’s in it for me?’ John Wooden, the legendary college basketball coach, said: “Be true to yourself, help others, make each day your masterpiece, make friendship a fine art, drink deeply from good books – especially the Bible, build a shelter against a rainy day, give thanks for your blessings and pray for guidance every day.” Whatever good thing you cause to happen to someone else. . .God will do for you. That’s not only sound advice. . .it’s theWord of God. . .Ephesians 6:8.

I — Imagine yourself where you want to be in a week, a month or a year. . .then plan your work and work your plan. . .to get there. If you can see it. . .imagine it in your future. . .you can achieve it. There are only two ways you can see something. First, with your natural eyes. Second, with your imagination or really … your spiritual eyes. The word imagination is defined in the Merriam Webster Intercollegiate Dictionary as: “the act or power of forming a mental image of something not present to the senses or never before wholly perceived in reality.” Your imagination is the thing that allows you to see the future before it happens. Stephen Covey, the author of “The Seven Habits Of Highly Effective People,” said: “Live out of your imagination, not your history.

J – Joy is coming to your house. No matter the adversity or the intensity of your previous failure. . .keep your joy. When I think about the joy of the Lord being my strength I immediately think of “This Joy That I Have” by Shirley Caesar “This joy that I have. . .the world didn’t give it to me and the world can’t take it away. The song goes on to say that robbers can’t take it away. . .repo men can’t take it away. Hallelujah!!” Psalm 30:5 which in the Amplified Bible says: “For His anger is but for a moment, but His favor is for a lifetime or in His favor is life. Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.” Joy comes in the morning. Joy follows weeping when He is at the core of your existence. . .when you are at peace with Him. . .worshipping Him for all He has done, is doing and will continue to do. Always remember, Nehemiah 8:10 in The Living Bible which says: “It is a time to celebrate with a hearty meal and to send presents to those in need, for the joy of the Lord is your strength. You must not be dejected and sad!”

K – Keep going no matter what circumstance may arise. Keep your focus on the goal line. Never give up or give in. Too many believers bail just before the reality of their victory begins to manifest. Philippians 4:12-13 in the Amplified Bible says: “I know how to be abused and live humbly in straightened circumstances, and I know also how to enjoy plenty and live in abundance. I have learned in any and all circumstances the secret of facing every situation, whether well-fed or going hungry, having a sufficiency and enough to spare or going without and being in want. I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me [I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me; I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency].”