Failure - a Badge of Honor

Towering guy with rumbling laughter, blue-black skin, and a temper matching his proportions, my colleague is chockfull of advice. He's the Citrix expert reciting virtual processes upside down in his sleep. His best work is designing and configuration. The strength of his character lies in his convictions which match his ability to troubleshoot systems, implement disaster recovery where no single points of failure are tolerated. When Steve makes a call, no one questions it. He personifies his technology and few people move me to compassion like he does in his problem solving quest. It drives him to seek and destroy anything that smells foul anytime, anywhere. Poor performance, slacking management, lack of character, poor judgment calls , usually culminates in a workplace meeting.

"She left me downstairs by myself." Courtney said, pointing at me in the back of the room. I shuffled in my chair when our new manager stared me down from the front. Clearing my throat, I explained the situation. But I had been sentenced. "Courtney is now the team leader." I could feel the weight of my choice translating into an unpredictable calendar. Uncomfortable silence. And then Steve's thunderclap. "That's not how we do things here!" He bellowed hard, I nearly ran out of the room again. "We're a team. We work things out together. We don't level complaints against each other. This is your first week here!" he pointed at Courtney, eyeing our boss. Courtney steadied himself. My manager paled. When she found her voice, she said, "Courtney is the stable mentor." I had to ask. "What am I, unstable?" A roomful of laughter, Steve laughed too. Calling me his favorite nickname while shaking his head, "JZ, you are Vol- a- Tile!"

It happens to the best of us, Failure. Life is filled with problems but its how we handle it that determines who we are. God never promised a life free of difficulties but he gives us strength to rise above it - the ability to learn from our mistakes. Every fall leaves a scar. Every bruise is a lesson learned, a process that marks our course for success in life. Paul learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, in good times and bad times. Its your choice. Take alarming situations, accept inevitable failures and turn it into strength. Best disaster recovery, ever.