Start Again

Several years ago, as a student trying to save money on my cell phone bill, I decided to ditch the cell phone companies, and instead go with Skype permanently. Skype charged me around $90 a year for incoming and outgoing calls. The downside was that I needed internet connection for my phone to work. This was before the pervasiveness of data (3G/4G). I thought WIFI was going to be King but I was wrong. It was a hard pill to swallow, but I swallowed my pride and started again with a Verizon Phone. Many things I have predicted in the past didn’t happen and investments I hitched in these bets did not yield returns, yet I started again.

Peter and the disciples had toiled all night trying to catch fish. They failed miserably. They did not catch a single fish. In the midst of their dejection, Jesus found them, and asked them to start again. Oh, I imagine the resistance that warred within their souls. We thought there was going to be fish, but we found none. Are you now asking us to go back to where we just failed? To start again? But they obeyed Jesus, they started again, and this time, they prospered.

Many times, the difference between failure and success is in starting again. I know you were routed the last time you tried, yet start again. I know you were ridiculed, I understand the shame you bore from failure, but start again. See opportunity in every failure. In adversity, choose to see opportunity. When people are passing the blame around, take responsibility instead. Remember that the higher your responsibility is, the more dependent your colleagues are on you. The bigger the problem you solve, the higher the check you can demand. Don’t be afraid to fail, don’t be afraid to start again.