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 turn 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-Boldy 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 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 exactly 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 the Word. . .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. It is a direct translation unlike The Living Bible.
By the way there are some exceptionally good teen-centered study Bibles these days.
5. As 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 negative 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 10: 3-5 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!
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 think you cause to happen to someone else. . .God will do for you. That’s not only sound advice. . .it’s the Word 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 abased and live humbly in straitened 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. 13 I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me [I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who [a]infuses inner strength into me; I am [b]self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency].”
L-Learn everything you can from everybody you can as you pursue your destiny.
Make every effort to find a mentor whom you can visit personally or through whom you can react based on their teaching.
Proverbs 11:14 in the Amplified Bible says:
“Where no wise guidance is, the people fall, but in the multitude of counselors there is safety.”
Proverbs 15:22 in the New Living Translation says:
“Plans go wrong for lack of advice; many advisers bring success.”
Learn from those who talk about where they’re going and not where they’ve been. That is unless they are now so late in their lives, they only have energy for memories.
M-Manage your life not your time.
Time never changes. . .it remains the same. . 24 hours in a day. . .seven days in a week. . .52 weeks in a year. However, we do need to manage ourselves. . .decide each night what your priorities are for the next day.
Operate with a timeline on what’s important to you including who you need to speak with either in person or by phone.
Colossians 4:5 in the Amplified Bible says:
“Behave yourselves wisely (living prudently and with discretion) in your relations with those of the outside world… making the very most of the time and seizing (buying up) the opportunity.”
N-Narrow your focus to what’s important spiritually. . .what’s important to your family. . .what’s important in you.
By narrowing your focus on what you want. . .you can get more specific and remember our God is a God of specificity.
Focus can be simply defined as ‘whatever has your attention.’ It’s clear that God wants us focused on His plan for our lives.
Luke 9:41 in the Message Bible says:
“Jesus said, "What a generation! No sense of God! No focus to your lives! How many times do I have to go over these things? How much longer do I have to put up with this?”
Anthony Robbins, the noted author and motivation speaker, said:
O-Open your mind to the infinite possibilities God can use to give you the desires of your heart.
Napoleon Hill, author of “Think And Grow Rich” as well as a speech writer for President Franklin D. Roosevelt, once said:
“What the mind of man can conceive and believe it can achieve.”
While I have great admiration for the writings and thoughts of Mr. Hill, it pales in comparison to the words found in Mark 9:23 in the God’s Word Translation:
“Jesus said to him, “As far as possibilities go, everything is possible for the person who believes.”
The greatest limitations you will ever face in life are: self-imposed, self-maintaining and self-defeating.
God wants you to believe in possibilities. . .not limitations. He wants you living in excellence not excuses.
P-Plan your future. . .your destiny. . .by planning what you’re going to do every day.
A successful plan requires you to step outside your comfort zone. . .leaving behind the hindrances of the past while embracing the possibilities of the future.
Your comfort zone is an enemy of your future. . .a hindrance to your success. . .a stumbling block to your destiny.
If you stay in your comfort zone. . .you will never leave or surpass your current reality.
Hebrews 6:1 in the Amplified Bible says:
“Therefore let us go on and get past the elementary stage in the teachings and doctrine of Christ (the Messiah), advancing steadily toward the completeness and perfection that belong to spiritual maturity. Let us not again be laying the foundation of repentance and abandonment of dead works (dead formalism) and of the faith [by which you turned] to God.”
Q-Quit second-guessing your decisions or whether or not. . .you’re destined to succeed.
Second-guessing is a waste of time when you’ve already made spirit-led decision and created a plan for success.
James 1:8 says:
“[For being as he is] a man of two minds (hesitating, dubious, irresolute), [he is] unstable and unreliable and uncertain about everything [he thinks, feels, decides].”
There’s no question God wants us to succeed. . .He even gives us the prescription for success. It’s found in Joshua 1:8 in the Amplified Bible which says:
“This Book of the Law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may observe and do according to all that is written in it. For then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall deal wisely and have good success.”
R-Rest, relax, reflect, refresh, recreate, reinvigorate and rejoice at the progress you’re making.
As you pause to rest and ponder your next step. . .always be ready to seize an opportunity which is good to you and the Holy Spirit.
Stress will undermine your efforts. . .negate your progress and make you sick. That’s why the seven “r’s” I just mentioned are so important to your future success.
Always trust God. . .practice the seven “r’s” and watch stress be eliminated from your life.
Exodus 18:23 in the Contemporary English Version says:
“This is the way God wants it done. You won’t be under nearly as much stress, and everyone else will return home feeling satisfied.”
S-Speak the pure, the powerful and the positive from the Word of God into your life.
There are numerous scriptures which talk about the power of the tongue. However, there is only one. . .which speaks to the spoken lifestyle of every believer.
Ephesians 4:29 in the Amplified Bible says:
“Let no foul or polluting language, nor evil word nor unwholesome or worthless talk [ever] come out of your mouth, but only such [speech] as is good and beneficial to the spiritual progress of others, as is fitting to the need and the occasion, that it may be a blessing and give grace (God's favor) to those who hear it.”
When you speak right things. . .you not only bless those around you. . .you are loosing powerful words in the spirit realm.
T-Thankfulness is critical to your future success.
Over the past week. . .I have quoted Colossians 3:15 in the Message Bible at least three times. When I asked the Lord why He had me used this scripture so frequently this week. He simply said: “I want my children to get it.” As a reminder the verse says:
“Let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other, in step with each other. None of this going off and doing your own thing. And cultivate thankfulness. Let the Word of Christ—the Message—have the run of the house. Give it plenty of room in your lives. Instruct and direct one another using good common sense. And sing, sing your hearts out to God! Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way.”
U-Unleash your potential.
During your time with the Lord every morning ask Him to allow you to tap into previously unused potential. . .recognizing the opportunities God is sending your way. . .as He’s never done before.
As our Lord stirs ideas in you. . .please write them down.
Ephesians 3:20 in the Amplified Bible is one of my favorite scriptures. It says:
“Now to Him Who, by (in consequence of) the [action of His] power that is at work within us, is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly, far over and above all that we [dare] ask or think [infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes, or dreams].”
Your potential like God’s love, grace and mercy is without limits.
V-Visualize your success.
If you can believe it. . .you can see it. . .which will empower you to achieve it.
The power of God allows you to ignite your imagination and visualize God’s will for your life.
Hebrews 11:1 says:
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
This scripture confirms that everything will exist in the invisible realm before it can appear in the visible realm.
The computer you’re using to watch this program or read this teaching later in the Rich Thoughts email was first visualized by someone before it was every created.
The chair you’re sitting in. . .was visualized by someone before it was ever produced.
Many things that were invisible before are now being visualized and coming into existence every day.
For instance, every building that has ever existed or now exists in the whole world, existed in the invisible world of the imagination of the builder or architect long before it existed in the visible realm.
Every process, every product, every invention, every movie or entertainment vehicle, every book, every organization, everything that is added to the earth by mankind exists in the invisible realm of the imagination before it can enter the visible, tangible realm.
Allow your spirit to take hold of this truth. I encourage you to allow natural information to stimulate your revelatory understanding.
W-Worry less about failure as you increase your focus on successful thoughts and actions of your past. . .and today.
Two scriptures speak to everything we need to know about the futility and spiritual damage of worry.
Matthew 6:27 in The Living Bible says:
“Will all your worries add a single moment to your life?”
Philippians 4:6 in the New Living Translation says:
“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.”
I do encourage you to read my teaching “15 Things To Do Instead Of Worry.” Search for it at haroldherring.com
X-X-ray your motivation for wanting to be successful.
If you’re driven by greed, revenge or retribution . . . you need to change your mindset.
We’re able to hide things from a lot of people, sometimes even those close to us, but our true feelings and motivations are clearly visible to God.
Our success will be limited and short-lived if our motivation is selfish instead of selfless.
Superman may have had x-ray vision. . .but only God can see the heart and the thoughts and intentions of the mind.
Zig Ziglar, an amazing author and Southern Baptist leader, said:
“Every job is a self-portrait of the person who did it.”
Y-Yield not to hindrances of any kind. . .on your drive to success.
It’s important to identify what condition or circumstance is hindering your progress.
After watching this program tonight or reading the Rich Thoughts email later in the week. I want to encourage you to take a moment. . . write down what obstacles, roadblocks and hindrances you’re facing. Once the list is complete, lay your hands on it and pray the following prayer.
“Heavenly Father, I’m headed where your word says I can go. . .toward success, prosperity and the good life. My journey has been hindered. I have listed what I believe to be the problems. In the name of Jesus, I’m asking for you to stir specific solutions in my spirit so the roadblocks can be removed and my journey completed. Thank you Lord, for your direction and the unction of the Holy Spirit.”
Proverbs 16:3 in the New Living Translation says:
“Commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans will succeed.”
Z-Zealously pursue with passion. . .the things that are important to you & God.
As I said earlier in the teaching. . .failure is an event … it not who you are and it’s definitely not final.
We are the only ones who choose whether failure or success is our ultimate destination.
1 Corinthians 12:31 in the Amplified Bible says:
“But earnestly desire and zealously cultivate the greatest and best gifts and graces (the higher gifts and the choicest graces). And yet I will show you a still more excellent way [one that is better by far and the highest of them all--love].”
Does it sound like God wants you to fail or settle for. . .less than His best. . .as your lot in life?
I don’t think so.
Over the next week, I encourage you to review the A-Z’s of turning failure into success. Let them sink into your spirit and your mental hard drive.
Text GIVE to 817-693-1557 to sow your seed securely and easily.
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