“The road to success is not straight, there is a curve called failure, a loop called confusion, speed bumps called friends, red lights called enemies, caution lights called family. But if you have a spare called determination, an engine called perseverance, insurance called faith, a driver called your conscience, you will make it to a place called success.” – T.E. BOYD
Faith is derived from the Latin Fides and old french feid which means confidence or trust in a person, thing, or concept. It is easy to have faith when things are going great, the real test of your faith comes during the hard times, tribulations, pain, and trying times. As American Baptist Minister and activist Martin Luther King Jr. once said “Faith is taking the first step, even when you don’t see the whole staircase.
Faith comes in different forms, you can have faith in someone, a religious deity, yourself, the universe, and other people. Faith is believing that your business would get traction with time, even though you can see the signs right now, it is believing you would be fine, no matter what, betting on yourself and your ability. Italian Philosopher and Theologian Thomas Aquinas once quipped “To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible.
Only He Who Can See The Invisible Can Do The Impossible” – Albert einstein
“Faith is to believe what we do not see; and the reward of this faith is to see what we believe.” – St. Augustine of Hippo
Author John Bisagno remarked, “Faith is at the heart of life. You go to a doctor whose name you cannot pronounce. He gives you a prescription you cannot read. You take it to a pharmacist you have never seen. He gives you a medicine you do not understand and yet you take it.”
“A weak faith is weakened by predicaments and catastrophes whereas a strong faith is strengthened by them.” – Victor Frankl
In his 2005 Stanford Commencement Address, Late CEO of Apple, Steve Jobs advised:
Again, you can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backward. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.
You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backward.
In Today Matters: 12 Daily Practices to Guarantee Tomorrow’s Success, author John. C. Maxwell shares a funny story about faith and holding to it. He writes:
There’s a story of a man driving a convertible on a mountain road who took an unexpected turn too quickly and went right over the edge. As his car fell, he managed to grab onto a tree sprouting from the cliff face as his car dropped a thousand feet to the canyon floor.
Help!” he screamed. “Can anyone hear me?” An echo was the only response.
“God, can you hear me?” he cried.
Suddenly the clouds rolled together and a voice like thunder said, “Yes, I can hear you.”
“Will you help me?”
“Yes, I will help you. Do you believe in me?”
“Yes, I believe in you.”
“Do you trust me?”
“Yes, yes, I trust you. Please, hurry.”
“If you trust me, then let go of the tree,” thundered the voice.”
“After a long silence, the man cried, “Can anyone else hear me?”
In As a Man thinketh, author James Allen wrote:
“The thoughtless, the ignorant, and the indolent seeing only the apparent effects of things and not the things themselves, talk of luck, of fortune, and chance. Seeing a man grow rich, they say, “How lucky he is!” Observing another become intellectual, they exclaim, “How highly favored he is!” And noting the saintly character and wide influence of another, they remark, “How chance aids him at every turn!” They do not see the trials and failures and struggles which these men have voluntarily encountered in order to gain their experience; have no knowledge of the sacrifices they have made, of the undaunted efforts they have put forth, of the faith they have exercised, that they might overcome the apparently insurmountable, and realize the Vision of their heart. They do not know the darkness and the heartaches; they only see the light and joy, and call it “luck”. They do not see the long and arduous journey, but only behold the pleasant goal, and call it “good fortune,” do not understand the process, but only perceive the result, and call it chance.”
They do not see the trials and failures and struggles which these men have voluntarily encountered in order to gain their experience; have no knowledge of the sacrifices they have made, of the undaunted efforts they have put forth, of the faith they have exercised, that they might overcome the apparently insurmountable, and realize the Vision of their heart.
Faith is what we call on when we go to the pharmacist to buy a drug, written by a Doctor we can not read his or her handwriting. Faith is what is required when you invest all your cash in a business venture that you are not sure would work out. Faith is what is needed when you leave your comfort zone and you relocate to a different country. Faith is what is required when you enroll in a course to learn a foreign language or a programming language. Faith is what is required to embark on most tough life decisions like getting married, buying a car, rearing a child, contesting for office, or choosing to speak up for what is right.
Have faith in yourself, whatever it is you believe in – GOD, Karma, life or serendipity. Don’t stop believing.
All the Best in your quest to get Better. Don’t Settle: Live with Passion.
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