I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work - Thomas Edison
Life is like a roller coaster: ups and downs, happiness, fear, insecurity, laughter and some occasional tears. Failure is part of life. We cannot avoid defeat, the only thing we can do to deal with it is choosing our reaction. When challenges are at our door step we are called to action: we can swim or sink, break or bend. The decision is ours.
Remember when learning to ride a bicycle you fell the first time? What would have happened if you gave up? You will fall numerous times. Just get back on your bicycle and ride to your goals.
I want to share with you 2 inspirational stories about Resilience.
Arianna Huffington: when a little girl dreams become reality
The Huffington Post is a household name as a news website and blog. Do you think the woman behind it is immune to failure or achieved her goals instantly? Her path to success was riddled with failure.
Born in Athens, Greece, an extremely shy Arianna moved to the UK when she was 16. She barely spoke much English and no-one, except her mother, thought she would be successful.
She was accepted to read Economics at Cambridge University and as a politically inclined student joined the debating society, the Cambridge Union. She was ridiculed because of her accent and her poor knowledge of debating rules but she didn’t give up. She put more effort to eventually became the Union’s first foreign female president.
Soon enough she was ready to start at Harvard University, but a twist of fate meant that she was offered to publish her first book, “The Female Woman”, about the changing role of women. The book quickly became a bestseller as she moulded into a successful writer.
Her personal life was expanding too and while appearing on a TV panel show, she met and fell in love with the famous Times columnist, Bernard Levin. 22 years older than her, he became not only the love of her life, but also a mentor and role model.
In her mid 20s, Arianna was struggling. Her second book got rejected 36 times. Thirty-six times! Yet she stayed focused and composed and finally got it published.
Despite her writing successes, now in her 30s, Arianna felt life wasn’t complete. She realised that being in love with a man who wasn’t willing to start a family wasn’t enough, and decided to move to the US to start-over. New York City became her new home where she married a famous oil magnate and when he was elected to Congress, they moved to Washington DC.
But her struggles weren’t over. After 11 years of marriage and 2 daughters, her husband announced his bisexuality and they divorced. She moved to California and in 2003 ran for state governor. Once more destiny turned her nose up at Arianna.
Two years later she founded the Huffington Post, now one of the most popular news websites in the world. She is a successful author of 15 books, CEO of a health and wellness start-up and is a Board Member of Uber.
When asked what gave her the strength of overcoming all the difficult moments of her life she simply quotes her mother, “Failure is not the opposite of success; it’s a stepping stone to success”.
Brice van der Post: when addiction becomes a good ally
Brice grew up in Bali where motorbikes, Friday night escapades, booze, cigarettes and clubs were his life, all at the tender age of 12. Rejected by his family, he soon started taking drugs.
When his father was diagnosed with cancer he was sent to the Netherlands to live with his godparents. The need to fit in lead him back to alcohol and smoking cannabis, then harder drugs, depression, and self-harm.
Frustrated by his constant thoughtless and anti-social behaviour he was sent back to Indonesia, where he had to face his father’s death. Then back to Europe – France, the Netherlands, wandering restlessly, binging on drink and drugs.
Alone and desperate and still only 16 years old, he bought a plane ticket to Portugal and travelled along the coast, insecure, lost and scared. He started selling drugs.
Realising things weren’t right, after much soul searching, he signed up for a 10 month sobriety programme. After 6 months, on February 23rd 2018, he quit smoking and signed up for an half-marathon. People discouraged him and did not believe he could do it. He ran so much he was fatigued and injured.
As a 19 year old addict, running genuinely saved Brice’s life.
Looking to expand his running experiences he found ironman and ended up doing a full 140.6-mile triathlon.
He became hooked to triathlon, but also hooked back onto life. No longer addicted to sex, alcohol or drugs running provided an organic way to stimulate all his needs and keep him “high” on the juices of life. He overcame his addiction and began to live life, completing goal after goal and turning his life from failure to glory and success.
And at 19 he still has the opportunity to lead a extensive, expansive and spectacular life!
Whether you’re a world renowned multi-millionaire, or teenage addict, our internal resilience has the power to restore our lives and well-being.
Have a fantastic, resilient week,
Andrew
