Lifetime

– By Sajjad Fazel

“The consequences of today are determined by the actions of the past. To change your future, alter your decisions today.”

– Anonymous

Hey guys. Today’s post is a bit different. Today, I won’t be sharing any experience of mine(don’t worry, I will keep doing that in the future), but today, I shall post something motivational, something which might make people look at their own lives again.

Why am I doing this? You know, I’ve come across soo many people, even in blogs, posting about how bad their life is, how sad they are with it, unhappy, want more, don’t think they have enough, who think all the bad things happen to them. Well buddy, that’s just not true. And we have to come out of this rut of cursing our luck and saying we don’t have any good one. Here’s a story I want to share with you all, a true story, of a man you all know very well(or have heard of him).

Abraham Lincoln never quits.

Born into poverty, Lincoln was faced with defeat throughout his life. He lost eight elections, twice failed in business and suffered a nervous breakdown.

He could have quit many times – but he didn’t and because he didn’t quit, he became one of the greatest presidents in the United States history.

Here is a sketch of Lincoln’s road to the White House:

1. 1816 His family was forced out of their home. He had to work to support them.
2. 1818 His mother died.
3. 1831 Failed in business.
4. 1832 Ran for state legislature – lost.
5. 1832 Also lost his job – wanted to go to law school but couldn’t get in.
6. 1833 Borrowed some money from a friend to begin a business and by the end of the year he was bankrupt. He spent the next 17 years of his life paying off this debt.
7. 1834 Ran for state legislature again – won.
8. 1835 Was engaged to be married, sweetheart died and his heart was broken.
9. 1836 Had a total nervous breakdown and was in bed for six months.
10. 1838 Sought to become speaker of the state legislature – defeated.
11. 1840 Sought to become elector – defeated.
12. 1843 Ran for Congress – lost.
13. 1846 Ran for Congress again – this time he won – went to Washington and did a good job.
14. 1848 Ran for re-election to Congress – lost.
15. 1849 Sought the job of land officer in his home state – rejected.
16. 1854 Ran for Senate of the United States – lost.
17. 1856 Sought the Vice-Presidential nomination at his party’s national convention – get less than 100 votes.
18. 1858 Ran for U.S. Senate again – again he lost.
19. 1860 Elected president of the United States.

So what to you interpret from this? Can you see how the man beat all odds? At a time when there was no Facebook or Twitter to post “I’m sad” or “My life Sucks” and get a ton of consolation. Yet, look what he did, and the rest is history.

Do you relate to what I shared? Did you use to complain about your life, or if something hasn’t worked out for you? Has that happened sometime now or in the past? Share it with all of us.
It soo has many times in my life, but I guess after reading this, I’m a little wiser than I was a few minutes ago.

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