Wisdom in the air

If you ever find yourself on a long flight, you're better off bringing your own diversions--an iPod, a book, a journal. Anything to save you from reading the inflight magazine or the SkyMall catalog.

Now, saying that, you can find a gem in that catalog. Successories has a couple of pages of motivational items in there. Most find them treacly. There's one I saw on the way to Brussels that spoke volumes to me.

"He failed in business in '31. He was defeated for state legislator in '32.He tried another business in '33. It failed. His fiancee died in '35. He had a nervous breakdown in '36. In '43 he ran for congress and was defeated. He tried again in '48 and was defeated again. He tried running for the Senate in '55. He lost.The next year he ran for Vice President and lost. In '59 he ran for the Senate again and was defeated. In 1860, the man who signed his name A. Lincoln, was elected the 16th President of the United States. The difference between history's boldest accomplishments and its most staggering failures is often, simply, the diligent will to persevere."