Too many times, people have been close to realizing their dream, only to give up at the last possible moment. They believe it’s time to give something up, when it may be time to actually double down and work harder. It’s like not knowing you’re at that 25th mile of a 26.2 mile marathon and quit. They’re so close to reaching their goal, but quit right before it came to be. I thought of writing this post when I read Thomas Edison’s quote,
“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”
Can You Think Of Any Failures?
Can you think of a guy or gal who keeps trying to be successful but all you see are their failures? The one who may not seem to be making any progress but is sticking to it anyway. You may see them and think, “Why don’t they just give up and get a normal job?” These people are often told they’re only dreaming and need to come back to reality. You think, “Give up already,“ but they’re still at it. Perhaps they see what you don’t see? Perhaps they understand that every little set back is an opportunity to learn and get better…not a reason to give up.
What If The Colonel Gave Up?
Ever heard of Colonel Sanders and his famous Kentucky Fried Chicken? Did you know that he didn’t start working on his famous chicken recipe until he was 40 years old? He worked at a gas station, where he perfected his chicken recipe. No, it wasn’t a restaurant, but he served dinners out of his attached living quarters. When the interstate came through Kentucky, it took away important road traffic, forcing him to close his business and retire.
He could have stopped there and retire on his measly $105 monthly pension check, but he didn’t. Instead, he drove around, sleeping in his car, searching for a partner restaurant to franchise his chicken recipe. He was rejected more than 1,000 times before he found his first partner. What if he gave up? We would’t have his delicious fried chicken!!!
The Takeaway
Colonel Sanders is just one success story where not giving up when times are tough can make you successful. There are many famous people out there that would have been considered failures if they didn’t pursue their dreams. It’s rare to go up to the plate and knock the first one out of the park, but you have to keep at it. To be successful, you don’t have to do be great at everything and knock every pitch out of the park. All you need is one success. One success can catapult you into many more successes. But you have to have the grit and desire to not give up when the going gets tough. You have to be ready to experience failure, get knocked down, and push through when the dream seems to be over. This is when legends are made, people reach their dreams, and “failures” become successes!!!
Check out these 9 famous people whose success could have easily been their failures, had they given up…
https://www.themuse.com/advice/9-famous-people-who-will-inspire-you-to-never-give-up