Failures become Opportunities!

Yesterday was another day in history for golf and golf fans. Tiger won in Tiger like fashion. Not only did he win, but he did in the way we have become accustomed to him winning. His come from behind charge with his laser like iron play, his putting prowess and his miraculous flop shot on 16. Similar to his shot at the Masters a few years ago. If you are anything like me, you may not care for his off the course behavior, but you enjoy great golf! He is beginning to silence his critics now that he is back on track to winning. A lot of people, experts included, said he would never be what he once was, but maybe, just maybe, he will pass Jack’s record. He tied Jack Sunday, ironically at Jacks course.

There is one thing I have begun to learn in life, is that failures can become opportunities. If you are a regular blogger you have more than likely heard of Seth Godin. He said in an interview that, “if when I fail more than you, I’ll win”. And Godin began to talk about the “Mindset of a Winner”. I have read plenty of books on failure, but this statement caught me by surprise and spoke to me in a way no other “Failure” statement has. Like Tiger, all though we don’t really think of him as a failure, had a rough last three or so years in his life, not only as a professional golfer but more importantly, his personal life. I don’t know him personally, but I watched him struggle with his game because of his personal failure. If you have been through some sort of past or even present failure in your walk through life lately, be prepared to walk through the process that will present itself.  Life is a process. Pain and mistakes are a part of it. Part of the process is getting back up and moving forward. Tiger knows and understands this and yesterday was an indication of how hard it is to get back up and move forward. Even though Tiger is a wealthy and has some status that you and I don’t have, it doesn’t mean that what he went through didn’t cause emotional pain in his life. It is obvious by where his game has been the last few years. Tiger has taken the “opportunity” to work on his game to get better. How about you?

If you have been through a rough spot in your life’s journey, what are you doing to move forward in your walk? I have learned over the years and the type of people I work with that it is not good for us to stay in our problems. It’s not good for us to isolate ourselves from others. Did you know healing comes from others? Sometimes we will need some alone time to “re-group and re-focus” and look at our self and find the problem. But the best advice I found was from a coach, mentor, pastor, or someone wiser than us or a really good friend to help us repair and asses what the damages are. It’s never a good thing to asses ourselves when you are emotionally torn. Every time we go through a trail in life it is an opportunity to grow.

If you have ever been to Florida, you may have noticed some of the crazy shaped palm trees. They bend into some shapes that just don’t seem to make sense. I learned something about palm trees. We are familiar with the Hurricanes we hear about in Florida, or maybe you have been in some shelter somewhere during one. One thing you will notice after a Hurricane, after you look through all of the debris of sometimes cars overturned, homes torn apart and lifted from their foundations, trees uprooted and blown sometimes miles from where they were planted, the palm trees are still rooted. They may be bent over and in a weird shape, but they are still rooted and flourishing and producing their fruit. We need to be like the palm tree. The storms of life will come. Will you be like the tree that was up-rooted and found miles away or will you be like the palm tree, adjusting and bending to the storms of life and continue to produce fruit? You will grow where you are planted!

Question;

1.    What foundation do you have for life?

2.    Are you producing fruit?

3.    What or who informs you?