Successful Dead Ends

We've spent this week thinking about how our talents and dreams might align with one another. As we do so, it might be helpful to keep Howard's encouragement in mind: sometimes our talents need development and the right environment in order to flourish. The success stories Howard shares began with failure. What if Fred Astaire had given up dancing?

This reminds me of something J. B. Wood said in this video interview: "No one's career is a straight path; it's a more squiggly, circular, spirally type of path." We tend to approach our lives and careers as fairly straightforward stories: we get the job, meet the girl/guy, land the promotion, retire on schedule, and that's that. Smooth sailing.

But we're not the authors of our own stories—God is. And he is a much more interesting writer than any of us are. LIfe is not about getting from Point "A" to Point "B." It's about what happens in between. We might save ourselves a lot of stress, worry, and heartache by trusting that where we are, God is too—even if we can't see the end destination.

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Transcript: If you pay attention to business failures, you may start to perceive what some call "dead ends onto right paths." Here are a few Harvey McKay gave in his classic business book:

1) Walt Disney was once fired by a newspaper. For what? For lack of ideas.

2) MGM's memo after Fred Astaire's screen test said: Can't act. Slightly bald. Can dance a little.

3) Beethoven's violin teacher declared him hopeless as a composer.

This is Howard Butt, Jr., of Laity Lodge. If that list of dead ends doesn't encourage you, have someone check your pulse. Failures do not a career UN-make. On the contrary: A dead end is your signal to make a RIGHT turn . . . into the high calling of our daily work.

My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever. (Ps. 73:26)