THE FAMILY OF FAILURE AND SUCCESS
Could be Failure is the father, and Persistance is the mother of Success. The nickname is Try-Try-Again.
Everyone fails from time to time.
My parents were good examples for me. My mom, Edna, was in poor health for the last 6 years of her life. She was a little older than Dad. Despite her debilitating stroke and heart problems, she got herself going every day with a positive outlook. She died at the age of fifty-two.
Dad, Bill Senior, was newly widowed, evicted from his rented home, co-owner of a bankrupt business and sitting in jail on his 48th birthday. His car was in the hands of the bank and his resources were less than zero. All he had really was a positive attitude, and children, also broke, who loved him very much.
He began again, working 2 jobs – night auditor at the Fairwinds Motel in Fort Lauderdale, and daytime taxi driver. Soon enough he became a full-time employee of the city of Oakland Park.
Dad was soon re-married and then the father of a new baby. He worked the swing shift at the wastewater treatment plant and found a highly remunerative position as a factory rep for Turbo Ice Company. Suddenly he had enough money, respect and freedom. He radiated a huge zest for his life. He worked both of these jobs until He retired at the age of seventy-eight.
Me? I had a kind of a bell shaped career path. I failed to graduate from college for lack of tuition. It took me a full ten years, including 7 years of evening classes to get my diploma.
I started adult jobs as a banker and as a weekend Coast Guard Reserve member. After 8 years at the First National Bank of Miami, I made a lateral shift to a health-care administration position that I kept for eighteen years.
Then I got the bright idea to go into the restaurant business. I went downhill from there to spend a fair number of years as a somewhat seasonal and episodic restaurant employee. I cooked and waited on tables and such. My whole life I usually worked at least two jobs, if you count being a reserve officer as a good part-time job.
By the way – I loved both the cooking jobs and waiting on tables. My last job in the restaurant business was as a sous-chef at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino. I did that gig for three and one half years.
My best job ever was publishing a newspaper I named Fun Things To Do In The Mountains. I retired when I sold that business. The retirement seems to be the best part of my life.
You could say that I failed in my first marriage and failed to go all the way in the banking business. You could say that I failed to be promoted to the rank of Captain in the Coast Guard, that I did not make a go of it in the restaurant business, and did not get as rich as I could have. But I had a hell of a good time.
I don’t know if happiness is related to failure or success. A good life may be about the journey.
DID I FORGET TO MENTION FAILURES COUSINS, GOOD LUCK AND BAD LUCK?
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