Never give up . . . . . That’s the trick . . . . .Never give up
If a man can be defeated, he probably will be defeated. There is something predatory about life. It finds a way to seek out and devour the weak and unwitting.
Success is not a natural response to ordinary living. Success is an extraordinary achievement evolved out of extraordinary struggle. Most people lose in life. Few people succeed.
It doesn’t have to be that way, but too often it is that way. Faint hearts and faint commitments are omens of failure. Opportunities grasped loosely more often than not will be seized and lost.
It is also true that neither success nor failure is final. Success can be built on top of colossal failure, and failure is omnipresent with our most exalted victories.
Neither is final. If eternal vigilance is the price of freedom, tenacity is the price of success. You simply must — never give up.
If you are enjoying the peak of your success, you cannot give up, because when you stop rowing the current grabs you, and it moves you where it will.
If you are suffering massive failure, you cannot give up, because others have shown us that some of our greatest empires have been built over the ashes of defeat. You can never give up.
There used to be a popular TV program called KAZ that I tried to never miss. KAZ was a juvenile delinquent and was sent to prison for crimes for which he was admittedly guilty. During those prison days he studied law, and when he came out, he passed the bar and became a practicing lawyer.
The drama on the show always begins with KAZ getting the most impossible cases. In nearly every episode it seems that there is no possible solution to the case.
It was fun to watch KAZ fight and struggle to win against stacked decks and powerful opponents. But of course he did always win. But winning is not the highlight of the show.
The real highlight of each show was that moment when things looked darkest, and there seemed to be no way for him to get out of the mess — KAZ used his motto.
— Never give up. . . . .that’s the trick. . . . .never give up
I watched that show each time that I could, just to hear that line.
— Never give up. . . . .that’s the trick. . . . .never give up
If you can be defeated, you probably will be defeated. But, if you refuse to be defeated, you cannot possibly be defeated. Somehow, some way, some time, out of complete ruin, defeat, or destruction, an embryo of success can form and soon a robust living, breathing winner will crawl out and make his swath in a new life.
I know it’s true because I’ve seen it happen. And, as I understand it, that was what Jesus was talking about.
Jesus told men in captivity that they could be free and nothing could keep them enslaved.
He told failures that they could be reborn and have a new clean successful life.
He told harlots that they could become clean again.
He told sinners that they could become holy.
He told weak men that they could become strong.
He told the poor that they could have abundance.
He told the dull and the dead that they could become born again and have new life and have it more abundantly.
The secret is to Never give up. Never surrender to the apparent inevitability of conditions. The fact that you are down in the deep, murky waters of failure may only be a clue to how far you will pop out when you do.
Just, Never give up. Failure is not comfortable, but it has its contribution to make. Success may give motivation, but failure can give wisdom. Success can offer energy, but failure can provide strength. Never give up!
Now, I have personally known some success. Indeed, perhaps I had too much, too soon. At one time lead seemingly turned to gold at my touch. I made money easily. I received advancements far faster than my readiness should have permitted.
I was acclaimed and ascribed attributes that I did not possess. I was sought after and spoiled with recognition. I enjoyed around me always — the trappings of a most apparent success. I wanted for little, and I needed nothing.
But I discovered that success can melt quickly. It can fade as a wisp, and the fresh touch of it on your cheek can be lost, and be as though it never happened. Failure can close over success like a shroud, and your once vibrant success can lie like a corpse — an ugly dead corpse.
And I know it can happen to anyone. Indeed it has been my experience that all really successful people have also known the blight of failure, but happily it is not usually permanent. It doesn’t have to be.
Let’s Talk Failure!
Ask someone who has just come through a time of failure. They will probably not want to talk about it, but they remember it. They will not forget it. They never prepared for it. But it came like a tornado. It is never silent. It is never benevolent.
When failure wipes it all away, what do you do with the empty days — when dreams and success are yanked away — when recognition, respect and reputation are colder than yesterday’s ashes — when the phone never rings, and nobody ever writes?
What do you do when newspapers blare your folly?What do you do when your closest friends ignore you and the prophets of doom are crowned kings?
What do you do when the money is gone, and when all that you have worked for is in jeopardy. How do you make a living? What do you do in the meantime?
You suffer.
I have suffered. Oh, how I have suffered! Nobody knows how I have suffered. Once my dreams evaporated. My hope became as thin as paper. I thought that I would never escape failure’s horrible clutches. .
But I have learned that almost anyone will have a period in their lives when they suffer. Anyone will suffer, but besides your suffering, you still get hungry and sleepy and you go on living…barely.
Once my phone rang off the hook with invitations to speak or serve in some capacity, but now, it never rang. Once my mail was voluminous with commendation and appreciation but now no letters came. I was in the long dark tunnel.
Lonely, I had never been lonely before, but now I had lost nearly every friend that I had ever had. A few reached out to comfort, but I was so wounded and deformed that I couldn’t accept that which was offered.
Fear? I had never known fear before, but now I knew terror. Dragons roared from the darkness. Ominous newspaper articles circulated, and the threat of the unknown never let me rest.
Self-deprecation? I was vicious in my condemnation of myself. I lost all self-respect. All of the blame for everything I heaped on myself. It was an internal burden that I would always carry. It seemed apparent that it would follow me all of the days of my life. I lost meaning and value in living. Each day was like the last. Miserable.
A Long, Dark Tunnel
I remembered one time years ago in Colorado, hiking with my eight year-old daughter along an old abandoned railroad track built through a mountain.
We approached it cautiously but the promise of adventure shoved us on. We went in and soon came to a curve in the tunnel where in looking both back and forward we could see no light. It was dark looking in, and it was even darker when we entered.
Obviously, there was an end to the tunnel somewhere round the bend, but we couldn’t see it. We stumbled into the darkness and fell once or twice but we kept going.
Pretty soon the light was gone from the point where we had entered, and, as yet, there was no sign of any exit. We held to each other and stumbled on.
A bird flew past, but the sound of those small wings echoed like the wings of a giant vulture. Daddy was as uneasy as daughter.
Soon, we saw a dim glow. It was a suggestion — just a suggestion — that there really was an exit out of the tunnel. In a few moments, a light appeared a long way off, but it was there, and we knew that everything was O.K. We ran out of the tunnel and bathed in beautiful sunlight.
On another occasion I walked through a tunnel of a different kind and I walked alone. There was no possibility of going back, and there was only darkness ahead. I tried to have faith and hope. I searched for some sign of promise, but there was only darkness. That was sure one long tunnel.
I approached the end of the tunnel timidly. I had been in darkness so long that my eyes were not accustomed to the light. I couldn’t see too well, but there it was — abundant, brilliant light.
Then, I saw it clearly. The light was God and he had been standing there all the time waiting for me to come out and live again. He had heard my footsteps long before I had seen the light.
He was light, and love, and hope, standing there waiting for me.
Now I can run again and not stumble. I can see beauty and not fear. I can live freely and abundantly. For if He makes you free, you will be free indeed.
I have failed, but I can succeed. I have sinned, but I can become holy. I have hurt others, but now I can help others. I have been blind, but now I can see. I have failed, but I can succeed.
— Never give up. . . . .that’s the trick. . . . .never give up
But just for a moment, let’s forget Failure. Let’s talk about success. You may not have recognized it, but you have been accumulating ideas and techniques which can be woven into a beautiful pattern of Success.
Already you have accumulated parts of a blueprint. That’s right. You own parts of a blueprint. No one can take them away from you. You own them.
Yes, you’ll encounter rough roads, just as I did. What will you do? Will you pull off to-avoid the bumps and let life and success pass you by? Or, will you remember that:
Big potatoes always come to the top on rough roads.
And, no tunnel lasts forever. So just move ahead. Think you are alone? Don’t worry; someone is waiting. Friends are there waiting and wanting to help you to climb a mountain again or scale a new summit.
Up ahead there’s a bright light. There’s hope, and love and new frontiers of exciting prospect. Move ahead and never give up; that’s the trick; never give up.
You Will Dream Again
No matter where you live or what handicaps you face, you can succeed. No town is so small that it can keep you from winning. No past failure can keep you from winning. Youth can’t stop you, nor can old age. It’s never too early to start, nor is it ever too late to begin anew.
You don’t have to be a loser. You can be a winner. And, you can start today. In thirty days you can make great strides. In sixty days everyone will notice drastic improvement. In six months you can have advanced so far that you will have a whole new and exciting life. You can win. Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t be a winner. Don’t let anyone tell you that it’s too late for you.
