Today I read about one of the most famous man in the world who got where he was through true grit and determination. His life is a series of failures that only ended in success through his ability to face hardship and overcome the many obstacles that stood in his path. He is none other than the 16th president of the United States, President Abraham Lincoln.
This man was born into poverty, so poor that his parents were driven out of their land in 1816 and young Lincoln had to do rough and tough jobs to support them when the family moved to then Perry County in Indiana. At the age of nine, he lost his mother.
Then, in 1832, at the age of 23 years, he started a small general store with a friend. He sold out his share of the store to the friend who died soon after leaving him to settle a debt of one thousand dollars. Unable to pay the debt, he became a bankrupt which took him 17 years to settle. Yet, his will to succeed did not lessen.
Even in love, it was no smooth sailing as his first love died even before the proposed marriage. His second match with a woman did not lead to marriage either. Eventually, his luck came in the form of Mary Todd and they were married till death did them part. Their successful married life is a lesson to those who have failed in their very first love.
Lincoln became a lawyer through his own study. In 1837, he was admitted to the bar and from then on we find his contempt for slavery. To act on this, he entered politics where he lost many times before he was elected. His election to the state legislature was only successful at his second attempt. After that he lost when he sought to be the speaker of the state legislature. He lost again when he ran for Congress and was only successful at his second attempt. As a congressman, he did a good job. Yet he failed to be re-elected two years later.
He failed in many things. He failed to get the post of land officer in his own state. He failed to become a senator. He failed to get his party's nomination for vice-presidency.
Such failures could have stopped a lesser man. Yet, in 1860, he was elected the President of the united States of America.
As the president, he turned to his mission of freeing the slaves. To him it was an injustice that could only bring harm to the nation to have masters and slaves. In the eyes of God, all men are equal. In the eyes of this president, all citizens are equal and his greatest mission was to rid the country of slavery. It took a war to do it and he unknowingly gave his life to achieve it, for just six days after the surrender of the Confederate Army to his cause, he was assassinated.
From the story of his life, he must have been given the mission to end slavery in America. To me, he not merely ended slavery in America, he showed the world that all men are born equal and slavery as well as ideas of master race are an injustice which should never be allowed to happen. Never in any religion or God-fearing people can such ideas of slaves and masters be promoted. Even our all powerfult God never consider Himself to be Man's master. He is God, our creator.
Showing posts with label failure. Show all posts
Showing posts with label failure. Show all posts
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Thursday, May 06, 2010
How good can a machine be?
The last ten days or more saw me frustrated as I was unable to enter my sites. I was unable to post a first person account of the terrible destructive storm which took place on Monday, 26 April, afternoon. I even had a number of photographs on the damage caused but I could not enter the internet to post them.
Then, there was the waiting for someone to come to make repairs. As the only resident in my home, I was not around when the technician came the first time. According to the technician, the wires outside the house were functioning properly and the problem could be at the telecommunication office, implying that since it was an engaged tone I was getting, it could be that I had not been paying my bills. That was adding salt to injury as I had always paid my bills on time. Later, I went to the telecom office to find that they could not solve the problem there as my account was alright and I was told to wait for the technician to appear again. Then, on Saturday, someone from the telecommunication phoned to ask me to detach the line from the phone and have that line going direct to my modem. That did not work. The next day, a Sunday, I was outstation when a technician phoned to say that my line was fine, upon which I told him I still could not enter the internet. He told me a technician would come. A technician did come but just to inform me that my line was dead and as such nothing could be done. Next day, somebody else would come to repair the line. I waited a day and no one turned up. By noon the next day, I took another trip to the telecommunication office to find out when my modem was to be repaired. I was told to wait. Wait! Wait! And Wait! Just a line and a modem and it had taken more than one week without any idea when it could be repaired. That is what we get when a big company subcontract services to small companies.
As a result of having to wait for this and that, I lost contact with my emails. Thus, nothing can be done until the waiting games ends and I have access to the internet again. At the time of writing this and the previous posting I use Celcom Broadband which has salved my frustration. Thank God we are getting other alternatives for our internet interests. Thanks to Celcom Broadband, much that I had put on hold is moving again. I no longer have to wonder when the people from TMNet would turn up to solve my internet woes. Looks like they may never turn up as i have heard nothing from them for the last two days despite an unresolved problem. Well, a computer can only be as efficient if everything linked to it goes well and that depends a lot on humans and their weaknesses.
Man makes machines, improving them each day, week, month or year. How good or fast the improvement to these machine are depends upon humans. If there is urgency due to competition from certain quarters, humans work harder to stay ahead of the competition. So industry is the primary factor which determines the speed of such improvements and this industry is stimulated by the need to ensure sales.
When machines reach the hands of consumers, how well it works depends upon the operational knowledge of the people involved. If the buyer of a computer does not understand how the computer works, he may not even know how to start one. Then he must know how to enter various programs to perform certain tasks. And should he have a digital camera, he may not know how to import photographs into his computer library. Then there is the internet where almost any knowledge is available to those who know how to use the search engines. Today, one can even do business on the internet if one knows how to use the web. However, a computer is as good or efficient as the knowledge and capability of the user.
So a machine can only be as strong as its weakest link and in this case the weakest link might be humans, be they the manufacturer, the user, the service provider or the technician. Perhaps it is a part made by humans, such as a defective modem. For things to run smoothly in our lives, only humans can ensure them. Well, when it comes to efficiency it starts and ends with humans.
Clearly, we are responsible for everything in our lives. We may be frustrated with the machines but we cannot blame them. If there be blame, then it must be ours. The fault lies within us. That is why knowledge and effort are so important to us, to our future and to the progress of our future generations.
Then, there was the waiting for someone to come to make repairs. As the only resident in my home, I was not around when the technician came the first time. According to the technician, the wires outside the house were functioning properly and the problem could be at the telecommunication office, implying that since it was an engaged tone I was getting, it could be that I had not been paying my bills. That was adding salt to injury as I had always paid my bills on time. Later, I went to the telecom office to find that they could not solve the problem there as my account was alright and I was told to wait for the technician to appear again. Then, on Saturday, someone from the telecommunication phoned to ask me to detach the line from the phone and have that line going direct to my modem. That did not work. The next day, a Sunday, I was outstation when a technician phoned to say that my line was fine, upon which I told him I still could not enter the internet. He told me a technician would come. A technician did come but just to inform me that my line was dead and as such nothing could be done. Next day, somebody else would come to repair the line. I waited a day and no one turned up. By noon the next day, I took another trip to the telecommunication office to find out when my modem was to be repaired. I was told to wait. Wait! Wait! And Wait! Just a line and a modem and it had taken more than one week without any idea when it could be repaired. That is what we get when a big company subcontract services to small companies.
As a result of having to wait for this and that, I lost contact with my emails. Thus, nothing can be done until the waiting games ends and I have access to the internet again. At the time of writing this and the previous posting I use Celcom Broadband which has salved my frustration. Thank God we are getting other alternatives for our internet interests. Thanks to Celcom Broadband, much that I had put on hold is moving again. I no longer have to wonder when the people from TMNet would turn up to solve my internet woes. Looks like they may never turn up as i have heard nothing from them for the last two days despite an unresolved problem. Well, a computer can only be as efficient if everything linked to it goes well and that depends a lot on humans and their weaknesses.
Man makes machines, improving them each day, week, month or year. How good or fast the improvement to these machine are depends upon humans. If there is urgency due to competition from certain quarters, humans work harder to stay ahead of the competition. So industry is the primary factor which determines the speed of such improvements and this industry is stimulated by the need to ensure sales.
When machines reach the hands of consumers, how well it works depends upon the operational knowledge of the people involved. If the buyer of a computer does not understand how the computer works, he may not even know how to start one. Then he must know how to enter various programs to perform certain tasks. And should he have a digital camera, he may not know how to import photographs into his computer library. Then there is the internet where almost any knowledge is available to those who know how to use the search engines. Today, one can even do business on the internet if one knows how to use the web. However, a computer is as good or efficient as the knowledge and capability of the user.
So a machine can only be as strong as its weakest link and in this case the weakest link might be humans, be they the manufacturer, the user, the service provider or the technician. Perhaps it is a part made by humans, such as a defective modem. For things to run smoothly in our lives, only humans can ensure them. Well, when it comes to efficiency it starts and ends with humans.
Clearly, we are responsible for everything in our lives. We may be frustrated with the machines but we cannot blame them. If there be blame, then it must be ours. The fault lies within us. That is why knowledge and effort are so important to us, to our future and to the progress of our future generations.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Failures are lessons in life.
Children today face so much stress as a result of parents and teachers who insist on the type of success they demand.
"You have to get all 'As'. You must be at the top of the class. 100 marks and no less!" And the demands go on and on. To please them, the child works at it. So does so many other children.
The teachers and parents are happy with the child when the child is able to achieve their hopes. However, when something happens and interrupts or disrupts the child's study, and the child slacks a little, giving the parents not the usual good results, the parents get worried. Why should the parents worry?
For example, if a child happens to live in a flooded area and this interrupts the child's studies; it is certain that the child will have no choice but to think of immediate flood problems first. Of course, if at that time, the child sits for an examination, marks most probably will tumble. It's expected. So, there is no worry. It is a temporary setback. Let the child and the parents learn from this.
Furthermore, in life, if we live long enough and do many things in life, we are bound to make some mistakes and fail somewhere. The only people who do not fail are those who stick to just one thing where they know they are safe; walk the same safe path and so commit no wrongs or failures. Do we want our children to be like that?
Certainly not. We want our children to see good opportunities as they appear, jump into the opportunity vehicle and see where it may lead to. If the ride becomes too rough and we have not the strength nor the capability to rough it out, we learn something from it. We discover ourselves. We know such a ride is not for us. We know our limits. As I have said in an earlier posting, everyone have limits. So, we must be realistic. Some are good at academics, others are good at physical things. Once we know where our capabilities and strengths lie, we know which opportunities to grab.
If a child were to slack due to some unforseen circumstances, it is a time for the child to learn that nobody is so good that he/she stays at the top all the time. He/She learns that it takes time and effort to stay at the top. He/She realises that others are just as good or can even be better. The child understands that even when he/she is not always at the very top, he/she is just as good. He/She may also realise that priorities are important and right choices have to be made. That is a lot of self understanding. Self understanding is important in decision making later in life.
Therefore, accept the fact that failures can happen. However, we must learn from our failures. Know what caused them. Understand that the best laid plan can go astray and when that happens the experience can stengthen us for future incidents. We can become stronger individuals. Understanding our failure can help prevent other failures and strengthen us for whatever other challenges that life throws at us. Wisdom comes through knowledge and experiences. And unless we experience failure we may not know the right thing to do under the circumstances.
Life is learning and that is what makes it adventurous and worth the living.
"You have to get all 'As'. You must be at the top of the class. 100 marks and no less!" And the demands go on and on. To please them, the child works at it. So does so many other children.
The teachers and parents are happy with the child when the child is able to achieve their hopes. However, when something happens and interrupts or disrupts the child's study, and the child slacks a little, giving the parents not the usual good results, the parents get worried. Why should the parents worry?
For example, if a child happens to live in a flooded area and this interrupts the child's studies; it is certain that the child will have no choice but to think of immediate flood problems first. Of course, if at that time, the child sits for an examination, marks most probably will tumble. It's expected. So, there is no worry. It is a temporary setback. Let the child and the parents learn from this.
Furthermore, in life, if we live long enough and do many things in life, we are bound to make some mistakes and fail somewhere. The only people who do not fail are those who stick to just one thing where they know they are safe; walk the same safe path and so commit no wrongs or failures. Do we want our children to be like that?
Certainly not. We want our children to see good opportunities as they appear, jump into the opportunity vehicle and see where it may lead to. If the ride becomes too rough and we have not the strength nor the capability to rough it out, we learn something from it. We discover ourselves. We know such a ride is not for us. We know our limits. As I have said in an earlier posting, everyone have limits. So, we must be realistic. Some are good at academics, others are good at physical things. Once we know where our capabilities and strengths lie, we know which opportunities to grab.
If a child were to slack due to some unforseen circumstances, it is a time for the child to learn that nobody is so good that he/she stays at the top all the time. He/She learns that it takes time and effort to stay at the top. He/She realises that others are just as good or can even be better. The child understands that even when he/she is not always at the very top, he/she is just as good. He/She may also realise that priorities are important and right choices have to be made. That is a lot of self understanding. Self understanding is important in decision making later in life.
Therefore, accept the fact that failures can happen. However, we must learn from our failures. Know what caused them. Understand that the best laid plan can go astray and when that happens the experience can stengthen us for future incidents. We can become stronger individuals. Understanding our failure can help prevent other failures and strengthen us for whatever other challenges that life throws at us. Wisdom comes through knowledge and experiences. And unless we experience failure we may not know the right thing to do under the circumstances.
Life is learning and that is what makes it adventurous and worth the living.
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