Never Give Up

It is said that the worst decision you can make is giving up one step short of the goal. Even when you have no clue where the ending line of success might be. It’s like the person who fails to buy the lottery ticket with the same chosen numbers year after year, only to see those numbers won the one time they quit buying!

A pilot struggling to successfully land a plane never gives up making all the corrections to attempt to get a plane on the ground safely… and that’s what we want in a pilot! Until the last possible second keep working for a solution.

Imagine if Edison had given up on his 9,999 try to successfully perfect the incandescent light bulb… His 10,000 (or thereabouts) was a success. We would never call him the inventor if his attitude was to quit. “I just found 9,999 ways that did not work!”

Imagine WWII not having the charismatic and decisive leader found in the likes of Winston Churchill, whose famous after victory speech was simply, “Never, never, never give up!

Old adage, true, but it still says a lot about who we are!

Quitters never win, and winners never quit!

Along the way we’ve all hit the proverbial wall. It seems like there are no options. We just don’t know what to do next, so we quit. Well, I’m not a quitter. Nor do I walk away. I keep throwing punches until the problem is properly battered down and then claim success.

Though I don’t quit, I do redirect myself quite nicely! Every job was a step to the next job, and if one job seemed to be the end of me, then I found something even better to pursue.

Maybe this is part of the key to life. Always load up your toolbox with options that can be drawn on at a moments notice to use when the way seems tougher. When the toolbox is empty, then create a new tool!

Think with me for a moment. You don’t want your pastor to give up on you, do you? Nor your spouse or sibling. How about your best friend? Too easily we give up on ourselves just as quickly as it seems others give up on us. The Prodigal Father kept going out to the edge of his property every day looking for that wayward son. (Luke 15:20) His persistence was eventually rewarded, but what if that son never made it home in time?

Every separation may someday be the last separation.

Regardless, it’s in my heart to say, “Never, never, never, give up!”

What brings me down this path this morning? The passing of a good friend, the failure of a good marriage, the morning text that says it took DaVinci 10 years to paint the Mona Lisa. It’s easy to quit. Throw in the towel. Cry uncle! But truly successful people know that pounding the pavement day in, day out, redirecting, reinventing, pursuing with a passion – all these statements define success. It may come at your last breath, but as long as you “keep on, keeping on” then you will not fail.

Not even showing up to the challenge is simply quitting before the gave gets started. I wonder, often, about the choices that could have been mine had I understood this at a younger age. My marriage is nearing it’s 44 years celebration with a goal of 65 just around the corner. Entering a marriage thinking that it’s easy to toss off and go a different direction is like not showing up with an intention of keeping the vow, “…till death us do part…”

It’s never too late to rethink your position.

Is it too late to play the piano that you practiced back when you were a tyke? No. It really is up to you. Are you simply giving up too soon?

Is it too late to make a spiritual move to reconnect with God the way you know you should? Not really. It’s simply up to you.

Sometimes you simply need to hear someone say… And I feel this is my job today…

Don’t Give Up!

Whatever it has been that you felt it was easy to step away from… Don’t give up!
That wayward child? Lost dream? Unfulfilled talent?… Don’t give up!
That promise that was a pipe dream? Maybe the dream is bursted, but there are always opportunities to redirect the energy!… Don’t give up!

Remember! Don’t Quit! Never give up! If you “fail” then remember it as an acronym:

Fail: First Attempt In Learning

Failure. Loss. No Success… Just reasons to prove your mettle and Keep On Trucking!

“Don’t Quit.”

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you’re trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest, if you must, but don’t you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about,
When he might have won had he stuck it out;
Don’t give up though the pace seems slow–
You may succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than
It seems to a faint and faltering man,
Often the struggler has given up,
When he might have captured the victor’s cup,
And he learned too late when the night slipped down,
How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out–
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far,
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit–
It’s when things seem worst that you mustn’t quit.

– Author Unknown.