Winners and Losers

I ran across a story about a man who was a failure - but too stubborn to quit. He lost at almost everything he tried to do, but as the old saying goes, he believed that "If at first you don't succeed, try and try again".

He was born to a poor, farming family. At age seven, he went hunting, and shot a turkey. But he felt so bad about it, that he never went hunting again, as long as he lived. At age eight, he was kicked in the head by a horse, and for a short time, everyone thought he was dead. He only attended school every now and then.

When he was twenty-three, he decided to try politics, and ran for the state assembly. And lost. He and a partner opened a store. Which went under, leaving him in much debt. At twenty-four, he ran again for state assembly and won this time. But the next year, his former business partner died, leaving him even further in debt. Also, even worse, his sweetheart died.

At twenty-seven, he was re-elected into the state assembly, followed shortly by an episode of severe depression. At twenty-eight, he proposed to his new girlfriend, who turned him down, ending the relationship. Over the next few years, he was re-elected a couple more times, got engaged to someone new, broke up, and had another episode of severe depression.

At thirty-three, he quit running for the state legislature. He got re-engaged to his former fiancée, and finally got married. At thirty-four, he decided to try to run for US Congress, but failed. A few years later, he tried again and became a member of the US House of Representatives.

A couple of years later, he decided to leave politics to practice law. The next year, his son died, and the year after, his father died. Four years later, he decided to run for the US Senate, but again, it didn't work out. The next year he ran for vice-president. Didn't get that, either. But, he kept trying, and three years later, he did get back into the US Senate.

The very next year, he was nominated as a presidential candidate, and, despite all the odds, won. Of course, that's when the Civil War broke out.

Most people think of Abraham Lincoln as one of the greatest presidents ever. And, I have to agree. He did many things to try and heal our nation’s problems, and led through the worst crisis in our nation’s history.

But to get there, he worked hard. Many times he failed, or faced other adverse events in his life. But each time he fell, he dusted himself off and tried again. I wonder how many of us would be able to overcome the obstacles that he did. I see so many people now who have the “I can’t” attitude, and it truly aggravates me. I do not have high ambitions, but I think that if it’s doable, I can probably get it done. If I can’t, I can probably find someone who can help me to get it done. If I could combine that with enough ambition, I’d surely be a success in anything I chose to do.

"The probability that we may fall in the struggle ought not to deter us from the support of a cause we believe to be just; it shall not deter me." The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln edited by Roy P. Basler, Volume I, "Speech on the Sub-Treasury" (in the Illinois House of Representatives, December 26, 1839), p. 178.

"I have been driven many times upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go. My own wisdom and that of all about me seemed insufficient for that day." Lincoln Observed: The Civil War Dispatches of Noah Brooks edited by Michael Burlingame (Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, 1998), p. 210.

"I am rather inclined to silence, and whether that be wise or not, it is at least more unusual nowadays to find a man who can hold his tongue than to find one who cannot." The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln edited by Roy P. Basler, Volume IV, "Remarks at the Monogahela House" (February 14, 1861), p. 209.

"Leave nothing for tomorrow which can be done today." The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln edited by Roy P. Basler, Volume II, "Notes for a Law Lecture" (July 1, 1850?), p. 81.

"I happen temporarily to occupy this big White House. I am living witness that any one of your children may look to come here as my father's child has." The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln edited by Roy P. Basler, Volume VII, "Speech to One Hundred Sixty-sixth Ohio Regiment (August 22, 1864), p. 512.

Facts provided by: http://www.historyplace.com
Quotes provided by: http://home.att.net/~rjnorton/Lincoln78.html