My dear, you will be woefully disappointed if in my story you expect any thing like a novel. I once heard a general say, that nothing was less like a review than a battle; and I can tell you that nothing is more unlike a novel than real life. Of all lives, mine has been the least romantic.

If you experiment, you have to fail. By definition, experimenting means going to territory where you've never been, where failure is very possible. How can you know you're going to succeed? Having the courage to face the unknown is so important.

I had so much fear of blood, and the first thing I did was to cut myself to see what happens. That's the only way to rebuild yourself.

opportunities typically come disguised as impossible problems. And while most people run away from their problems, Shamgars run at them with their oxgoads.

If you go all in and all out for the cause of Christ, there will be setbacks along the way. But remember this: without a crucifixion there can be no resurrection! And when you have a setback, you do not take a step back, because God is already preparing your comeback.

if you learn from every mistake, then there is no such thing as failure anyway.

We should stop asking God to get us out of difficult circumstances and start asking Him what He wants us to get out of those difficult circumstances

Here is my point. The cure for the fear of failure is not success. It's failure. The cure for the fear of rejection is not acceptance. It's rejection. You've got to be exposed to small quantities of whatever you're afraid of. That's how you build up immunity.

Pain can be a professor theology. Pain can be a marriage counselor. Pain can be a life coach. Nothing gets our full attention like pain. It breaks down false idols and purifies false motives. It reveals where we need to heal, where we need to grow. It refocuses priorities like nothing else. And pain ins part and parcel of God's sanctification process in our lives.

Your ability to see failure as a necessary stepping stone directly correlates with your ability to dream bigger and dream better.

It's not about being in the right place at the right time; it's about being the right person, even if you find yourself in the wrong circumstances.

One of the mistakes we make as parents and as leaders is this: we do everything within our power to create emotional and relational and spiritual biospheres. We avoid conflict. We mitigate risk. We minimize discomfort. We sidestep sacrifice. Then we wonder why people grow to a certain stature and stop. We wonder why leaders fall.