John Howard Payne walked dejectedly through the streets of Paris toward the cold garret where he slept. Misfortune and sickness had overtaken him. Suddenly, a door opened and a light streamed through. Into the arms of a man who stood upon the threshold leaped happy children, and a wife beamed a welcome. The door closed. Darkness fell again.

It had all happened in a twinkling of an eye, but that night, by candlelight, in his attic, tears streaming down his face, he wrote, "Home, sweet home." Ironic, isn't it, how God made John Howard Payne's distress an open door through which a splendid vision — the home that awaits us — could be seen?

Inspiration, determination and creativity enable a person of drive and ambition to overcome overwhelming odds. Early American statesman Henry Clay made his ink by scraping the soot from the bottom of his mother's soap kettle. He mixed the soot with a few drops of melted tallow and a little water. He took a quill from the wing of a goose in the barnyard to use as a pen. His paper was a pine shingle. When he had written his lesson, he shaved away the writing with his hunter's knife.

Unfortunately, many people who do not have financial or physical resources throw up their hands in despair, when in reality, the greatest tools for success are between our own two ears if we will but look and use them. That approach will enable more people — including you and me — to do more things. Give it a try, and I'll see you at the top!

Failure Is an Event — Not a Person

For many years, I have been pointing out that failure is an event, not a person — that yesterday really did end last night, and today is a brand-new day. This is a message all of us need to understand. The student who fails an arithmetic test is not a failure in life. The child who does a foolish, irresponsible thing simply is a child who did a foolish, irresponsible thing. It does not mean the child is a bad person. We should deal with the event, not belittle the person; we must give him a standard to live up to, not one to look down on.

The number of "event failures" in all our lives is legendary. Babe Ruth struck out 1,330 times, but he also hit 714 home runs. Roger Staubach threw thousands of incomplete passes in his career, but most of us remember the ones he completed and his outstanding success on the playing field. R.H. Macy failed seven times before his store in New York City finally caught on.

Hockey star Wayne Gretzky said it best: "I miss 100 percent of the shots that I never take." The book we never write never will make it to the best-seller list. The idea for a worthwhile product never will catch on if it's not brought to completion. The relationship never will develop or be mended if the effort is not made. I'm personally convinced that not only is failure not a person but also not a crime. The crime is never having made the effort. Take that approach, and eventually, I will see you at the top!

To find out more about Zig Ziglar and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com. Subscribe to Zig Ziglar's free e-mail newsletter through info@zigziglar.com.

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