Winners Never Quit and Quitters Never Win.
Tonight, Tingting Zou told us a story in the inspiration closing session of Dale Carnegie Course. I found myself gained lots of positive energy from it. So I’d like to share the story with you tongiht. And, all the credit goes to Tingting Zou.
One man experienced a lot of failures in the beginning of his career during a period of almost 30 years. Here’s the list of his failures:
* 1832 Ran for state legislature – lost.
* l832 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 – get less than 100 votes.
* 1858 Ran for U.S. Senate again – again he lost.
Then 1860 he was elected president and is today considered one of Americas Greatest Presidents.
His name is Abraham Lincoln.
I was so touched after I heard the story. Lots of time, we thought what we are experiencing is so painful. But compare to Lincoln’s experience, his failures are lots bigger than what we had.
Herbert Kaufman once quoted: “Failure is only postponed success as long as courage “coaches” ambition. The habit of persistence is the habit of victory.”
It is the same that Lincoln experienced many failures, He could have quit many times – but he didn’t and because he didn’t quit, he became one of the greatest presidents in the history of our country. We should not quit too, never, ever! Quitting too often in the long run can turn into a bad habits as you easily gave up due to some obstacles along the way. So never quit, never quite!
Winners Never Quit and Quitters Never Win.
天将降大任于斯人也, 必先苦其心致, 劳其筋骨, 饿其体肤, 空乏其身，行拂乱其所为，所以动心忍性，曾益其所不能。
老祖宗的话真是放之四海而皆准.
Hi Justine,
Thanks for the comment. Yes, you are right. The reason Lincoln become the Lincoln we know is because he never give up himself, use his full heart and gut to pursue his dream. That’s how he turn his life from Ordinary to Extrodinary. We should do it too!
Olina.
As someone who has overcome a TON of things I definitely understand how people sometimes are tempted to give up. It’s hard when you can’t see around the next corner. But life is what you put in. Half effort gives only half the rewards.
You just have to keep on keeping on…
My favorite quote:
The secret to happiness in life is to see all the marvels of the world and never forget the drops of oil in the spoon.
Hi Daron,
Thanks for your comment. I love your thought. It is so true that: ‘ life is what you put in. Half effort gives only half the rewards.’
The quote is very inspiring too. Yes, we always tend to being bothered by small things in our life and don’t cherish what do we possess. Life is so short, we just need to stay happy and bring happiness to people around us.
After I heard Winners Never Quit and Quitters Never Win, my first reaction was listing all my failure experiences and found they are small ones compare to Lincoln’s. Then, I started reading the book “Lincoln, the unknown” and found he had more successes than failures.
I believe the drive, passion, thoughts, and enthusiasm from inner-self have the strongest power that leads each individual to where they want to be. Who they want to be can be dramatically different, that’s why Lincoln is the best president and I am the best CFO here at Lin Engineering. In life, we all go through experience in success and failure, and WE ALL ARE WINNERS because all of us are driven to become who we want to be and that’s why we are who we are.