LESSON 8: Learn How To Fail Gracefully

Learning How To Fail Gracefully

“But life will become a burden of existence unless you learn how to fail gracefully. There is an
art in defeat which noble souls always acquire; you must know how to lose cheerfully; you must
be fearless of disappointment. Never hesitate to admit failure. Make no attempt to hide failure
under deceptive smiles and beaming optimism. It sounds well always to claim success, but the
end results are appalling. Such a technique leads directly to the creation of a world of unreality
and to the inevitable crash of ultimate disillusionment.” (1779.5) 160:4.13

TRUE SUCCESS

“The career of a God-seeking man may prove to be a great success in the light of eternity, even
though the whole temporal-life enterprise may appear as an overwhelming failure, provided each
life failure yielded the culture of wisdom and spirit achievement. Do not make the mistake of
confusing knowledge, culture, and wisdom. They are related in life, but they represent vastly
differing spirit values; wisdom ever dominates knowledge and always glorifies culture.” (1780.2)
160:4.16