Elton Gomori
In one’s quest for success and ultimate greatness, failures and falls are inevitable and quite unavoidable at one point or the other. Indeed and in fact, every success narrative since time immemorial to posterity is and will always be punctuated by failure, set back, scandals, blunders and falls of different shapes, forms and moulds.
Every person who made it to the top – regardless of age, creed, tribe and socio-economic background- failed and fell in the journey to ultimate greatness. Failure is a process undertaken in the process of getting to the top echelons of success in various spectrums of life. In essence, failure is the womb of success. Therefore, downfalls and failures should not deter you from pursuing your dreams, goals, vision and fulfilling your destiny and purpose. Surely, regardless of how pathetic you may be trapped by a failure, fall from glory or setback, you can bounce back. Yes. You can bounce back even if you are tempted to believe otherwise as a result of the prevailing situation you may find yourself in.
Honestly; failures, falls and setbacks can disturb you for a moment but they can’t terminate or extinct the likelihood of your rise to the top. Any failure can propel and perpetuate your downfall with your permission. Failures, downfalls and scandals do not have the ability and agility abort the pregnancy of potentialities locked within you by the creator of the universe. A human being can outlive and triumph over past mistakes, doom, downfalls and failures.
A true story quickly comes to mind, on 5 August 2010, a mine in Chile collapsed giving birth to what is famously known today as the Chilean Accident. Thirty three miners were trapped for 69 days, one and half kilometres deep. How astonishing and interesting is it that they managed to overcome hunger, thirsty, poor ventilation and despair till they saw the light of the day after such a very lengthy time. On various video footages on news covering the incident on various television channels by then, I remember seeing their family members and friends crying and wailing. They thought they were buried alive and their situation was helpless and hopeless. Little did they know, as long as there is still a breathe in the nostrils of a human being; there is still hope for same. It does not matter how down you are as a result of the events taking place in your life; you are the best candidate for a rebound. You can come back into style, spotlight and popularity. No any amount of downfall is done with you just yet. You still have the propensity to bounce back. It’s not over yet.
It is a great tragedy to lose hope as a result of a downfall or failure. No one is defeated up until he or she is devoid of hope. Keep the lamp of hope ablaze even if a failure or a downfall endeavours to extinguish and annihilate your hope and self esteem.
In the gospel fraternity, Apostle Ezekiel Handinawangu Guti is arguably the world’s most popular cleric. He leads the largest pentecostal church in the world which is operational in more than 120 countries across the world. His ministry was not always a bed of roses. In 1946, at the age of 23, he married his first wife. Surprisingly, his marriage did not stand the test of time. He divorced and the implication of that development was a downturn on his church growth curve. Some people in his church went to start own denominations, other left and joined other churches as they refused to be lead by a pastor who was accused of infidelity by his former wife. It was a major blow to the upcoming gospel personality then. ‘’The brand called ‘ Ezekiel Guti’ was at risk of massive disrepute’’, thus said critics back then. However, Apostle Guti rose, dusted himself up and continued with the work of Christian ministry. He later got married to Eunor Guti and the two are legendary gospel ministers, recognised globally. They have performed many mighty miracles, written several bestselling books, converted millions to Christianity and do have college universities.
You can bloom even after a scandal. Your haters would love to have you believe it’s over after a mess but don’t be fooled, the magic in your DNA is enough to put you back on spotlight after a fall from glory and societal expectations. I’m not trying to condone indecency whatsoever but my objective is to inspire the down fallen to get up and run their race to their destiny. Nothing can be further from the truth, you can bounce back.
Look here, Nelson Mandela is well known for fighting the apartheid rule in South Africa, the country of his nativity. He mobilised for rallies and peaceful protests against lack of equitability in terms of distribution of the national cake amongst blacks and whites. He fought tirelessly against domination of the black majority by the white minority who where in power back then. As a result, he was imprisoned and sentenced life in prison by the government of the day. He stayed in prison for 27 years but it is a public secret that in 1990, he was set free and was later elected the president of South Africa. He bounced back. You can bounce back from the prison of mediocrity, scandal, failure and downfall. Yes, you can bounce back!
Human potential can be likened to a tennis ball. When it is cast down, it adheres to the force of gravity but it does not forget to bounce back. Every setback you can be faced with is a launch pad for an elevation of some sort. Never be heart melt by a failure, downfall, mistake or scandal, instead let such ignite in you the desire to express the last laugh. When you fall or fail, your haters and rivals ululate in private and public spaces but you have to be geared to silence them by the level of success in your field of expertise you will exude after the calamity.
Let the failures and downfalls you went through develop in you the pressure and momentum necessitated for a bounce back.
Your greatness is an offspring of the diligent use of your talents, gifts, experience and knowledge; a scandal can’t take away such from you. You remain gifted and talented even after a scandal, failure or downfall. You can re-write the story of your life by learning from your mistakes, being vigilant enough not to repeat them. You can re-paint the tattered, maimed and marred picture of your image. You can alter the trajectory of your life by harnessing your talents and gifts towards for the fulfillment of your destiny post the failure and scandal phase.
In spite of failures and downfalls, a living human being remains a serious candidate for greatness. You cannot afford to wallow in complacency, self pity, depression and dismay over your past failures, blunders, downfalls and setbacks. I hear the sound of destiny shouting for you from a not so distant horizon. Right in the aftermath of failure and downfall, if you have a never say never spirit, only two things are certain, either you can bounce back or else you can bounce back.
- Elton Gomori is a pastor, evangelist, academic, author, dynamic motivational speaker, master of ceremonies, leadership expert and marriage scientist. He writes in his personal capacity. He can be reached at: eltongomori@gmail.com or WhatsApp at : 0736 404 911 .
