Day #22: "Success is nothing but luck. Just ask any failure."

It Couldn't be Done

~Edgar Albert Guest

"Somebody said that it couldn’t be done,
But, he with a chuckle replied
That maybe it couldn’t, but he would be one
Who wouldn’t say so till he’d tried.
So he buckled right in with the trace of a grin
On his face. If he worried he hid it.
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn’t be done, and he did it.

Somebody scoffed: "Oh, you’ll never do that;
At least no one has done it";
But he took off his coat and he took off his hat,
And the first thing we knew he’d begun it.
With a lift of his chin and a bit of a grin,
Without any doubting or quiddit,
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn’t be done, and he did it.

There are thousands to tell you it cannot be done,
There are thousands to prophesy failure;
There are thousands to point out to you one by one,
The dangers that wait to assail you.
But just buckle it in with a bit of a grin,
Just take off your coat and go to it;
Just start to sing as you tackle the thing
That "couldn’t be done," and you’ll do it."

Anybody can say it won't work, and anybody can give up, but it is those with strength and perseverance who succeed. What are your goals? Are they difficult ones to achieve? Everyone gets discouraged, and everyone gives up, but the difference between winners and losers is the drive behind their pursuit of goals. Nathaniel Bowditch was a child when his mother died, which left his father to provide for 7 children. As was the custom of that time, his father apprenticed him for nine years, so that he could learn a trade. Nat Bowditch had a love for learning, and even though that became very difficult, he taught himself several languages, mathematics,  navigation and astronomy. At the age of 25, he was considered the brightest mathematical mind in the colonies. Even today, his book, The American Practical Navigator, is called "the seaman's bible."  Nathaniel Bowditch's story is one of perseverance. Even when his circumstance made it very difficult to learn, he persevered, and worked very hard to teach himself what he wanted to learn. He was the only man to ever graduate from Harvard university without ever setting foot in a classroom. 

Stories like these are inspiring, but most of us think that we could never be like that. Many think they are simply too normal and mediocre. Anyone who doesn't try will always be mediocre, and those who quit will fail. Sometimes competing against yourself gives us more drive to succeed. Set goals for yourself and live up to them. Whether your goal be small and personal, or great and life-changing the same rules apply. If you quit, you lose, but if you persevere, the possibilities could be endless. Thomas Edison said, "His genius he was quite content in one brief sentence to define; Of inspiration one percent, of perspiration, ninety nine." Success is the consequence of drive and sweat, if you're afraid of them, success may not be for you. In striving for goals, time is not wasted by failure. Instead, time is wasted when we fail and then give up, because we can no longer use what we have learned from our failures. Whatever it is, keep up the good work, and finish the race. 

It isn't the easy things that make us stronger, and like a tree is strengthened by lack of water, we are strengthened by failure. The trials in life are what give us gratitude for what we have, and the strength to press on. Every cloud has a silver lining.

I don't think so...