Turning Defeat into Victory

These are some illustrations from a Sermon Series from the book of Joshua, The Road to Victory: Leading the Way. Part 5 - Turning Defeat into Victory

John Maxwell shares some thoughts on failing in his book, Failing Forward.

Failing Backward	Failing Forward
Blaming others	Taking Responsibility
Repeating the Same Mistakes	Learning from Each Mistake
Expecting Never to fail again	Knowing Failure is part of the process
Expecting to Continually Fail	Maintaining a Positive Attitude
Being Limited by Past Mistakes	Taking New Risks
Thinking I am a Failure	Believing Something didn’t work
Quitting	Persevering

Messages that give us feedback about life.

Interruptions that should cause us to reflect and think

Signposts that direct us to the right path

Tests that push us toward greater maturity

Awakenings that keep us in the game mentally.

Keys that we can use to unlock the next door of opportunity.

Explorations that let us journey where we’ve never been before.

Statements about our development and progress

“Autobiography in Five Short Chapters.” by Portia Nelson.

Chapter 1

I walk down the street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I fall in. I am lost. I am helpless. It isn’t my fault. It takes forever to find a way out.

Chapter 2

I walk down the street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I pretend I don’t see it. I fall in again. I can’t believe I am in the same place, but it isn’t my fault. it still takes a long time to get out.

Chapter 3

I walk down the same street. Thee is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I see it is there. I still fall in. It’s a habit. My eyes are open. I know where I am. It is my fault. I get out immediately.

Chapter 4

I walk down the same. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I walk around it.

Chapter 5

I walk down another street.