Taylor: If you're still alive, you still have opportunities

Posted: Sunday, May 27, 2001

He sat in my office and talked about his recent business failure.

"It didn't kill me, so it must have been a lesson I needed to learn," this young business-owner reasoned.

I admired the young man's maturity.


His attitude inspired this column. What he said is a part of a good operating philosophy for life. If it doesn't kill you, you still have opportunities to change the final outcome.

Failure is not permanent. Setbacks are temporary. Knockdowns are not the same as knockouts. Only death is lasting.

So, if you're still alive, celebrate the day. If you still have your feet, stand up and run. If you can talk, thank God for another day and a new opportunity.

The river of life is never a smoothly flowing current. It offers many challenges.

Many circumstances drag us down. Bad things happen to good people. I don't know why, but I know they do.

I'm learning that what happens to us is not as important as what we do about it. The circumstances we face aren't as critical as how we choose to react to them.

So here are some thoughts for you readers who are in a tough spot today.

You may have been knocked flat and are wondering whether life is worth getting back up for. It is.

What doesn't kill you...

... is a lesson. However, the lesson is not always obvious. Ask, and keep asking these questions: What can I learn from this setback? What can I do differently to profit from this adversity? What is God trying to teach me in this situation? Then look and listen for the answers.

I believe we can learn more from sorrow than from joy, more from illness than from health, more from failure than from success - if we are actively looking for the lesson.

... makes you stronger. Trials, adversities and misfortunes strengthen the inner person. President Abraham Lincoln suffered many setbacks in his life. He failed in business, lost his young sweetheart, had a nervous breakdown and was humiliated in losing numerous political elections.

Yet he tried once again and was elected President of the United States. His previous experience with adversity strengthened him. He was prepared to lead America through one of the most troubled and controversial times in its history.

... makes you wiser. Benjamin Disraeli said, "There is no education without adversity."

However, the wisdom is not automatic.

Some people who suffer setbacks turn bitter and withdraw from life. Others experience even greater adversity, and yet they use the knowledge gained to grow and prosper.

What is the difference?

We gain wisdom from experience only if we realize that what happens to us is not as important as what we choose to do about it. You are wiser if you decide to turn a setback into a positive learning experience.

... makes you thankful. Cancer didn't kill me in 1997. However, it has made me more thankful for every one of the nearly 1,400 days I've lived since I recovered. Every day is a great day.

I'm thankful I have meaningful work to do and that I feel like doing it.

I'm thankful when we receive refreshing rains and for the sun that always follows.

I'm thankful for the bills that come every month and that we can pay them all.

I'm thankful for the winter season of rest and for the springtime of renewal.

Yes, I still have setbacks, but I'm thankful for the lesson to be learned from them. Some days always will be better than others, but everyday is a great day, and I'm thankful.

Don Taylor is the co-author of "Up Against the Wal-Marts." You may write to him in care of "Minding Your Own Business," P.O. Box 67, Amarillo, TX 79105.

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