Falling Down and Getting Up                          9 Mar 2010

Today my topic is on falling down and getting up.  What do I mean by falling down?  In life, we’ll face failures, difficult moments, disappointments and challenges. 

Some of you may be having difficulties in your studies—you may be failing in some subjects, and your parents will know about it because you’re going to receive your progress report soon.  And some of you may be having family or personal problems.  Or some of you may be feeling disappointed that you didn’t win in that important inter-school game.

Falling down is a reality, but how we get up and get going is important.

Let me share with you a few stories of the lives of people who fell down, but they got up and got going again.

The first man.

At age 7, his family was forced out of their family home and he had to work and support the family.
At age 9, his mother died.
At age 22, he lost his job as a clerk.  He wanted to go to law school but did not have the necessary qualifications.
At age 23, he borrowed money to start a business.
At age 26, his business failed, his business partner died, leaving him a huge debt which took him many years to repay.
At age 28, after courting a girl for 4 years, she rejected his marriage proposal.
At age 37, he was elected into congress after failing twice.
At age 39, he failed to get re-elected.
At age 41, his only son died.
At age 45, he ran for senate and lost.
At age 47, he failed to secure a post to be the Vice-President candidate.
At age 49, he ran for senate and (you guessed it), failed again.
At age 51, he was finally elected to be the President of the United States.

His name—Abraham Lincoln.  A man considered to be the greatest leader America ever had.

Another man, Walt Disney, was turned down 302 times before he got financing for his dream in creating the “Happiest Place on Earth”.  Today millions of people are able to enjoy Disneyland.  I love Disneyland too.

Colonel Sanders spent 2 years driving across the United States looking for restaurants to buy his chicken recipe.  He was turned down 1009 times.  And you can see how successful Kentucky Fried Chicken is today.

Michael Jordan, the iconic basketball player said, “I’ve missed 9000 shots in my career.  I’ve lost 300 games.  26 times I’ve been trusted to take a game-winning shot and I’ve missed.  I have failed over and over again in my life.  Then he says, “that’s why I succeed.”

Let me share with you this quote that I came across.
Failure does not mean I have accomplished nothing.  It does mean that I have learned something.

In the Bible, the apostle Paul wrote this verse to encourage the Philippians.

Phil 3: 13-14 : Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have arrived.  But one thing I do, forgetting what is behind and straining forward to what is ahead.  I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Let me end with the story of a horse which fell into a pit.  The owner of the horse tried to get the horse out of the pit.  But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t do it.  And then an old and wise farmer came along.  He told the horse owner to shovel dirt and sand into the pit.  The horse owner then said, “wouldn’t that bury my horse?”  The old farmer then said, “just do as you’re told”.  The horse owner then started shoveling dirt on the horse. When each shovel of dirt landed on the horse, it shook the dirt off, and stepped on it. More dirt would land on the horse’s back and each time, he shook it off and stepped on it.  Eventually the horse was back on level ground.

We need to be like that horse, when failure or challenges land on us, let us shake it off and use it to step up. Eventually we will be out of the pit and back on level ground.
Let us keep our eyes on the goal, on what we want to achieve, and let us rise above our challenges and move towards the prize.

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7-Ups of Life (And it is not about the drink)

1. Wake Up ... to a good day!. As each new day is a gift from God, it is good to give thanks to God for it. As long as the earth rotates, we will have day. As long as the sun shines, we will have day. As God is the Creator of the Universe we should give thanks to Him for each new day. (Ps 19 : 1 "The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork.")

2. Dress Up ... with a smile! It is good to put on a smile each day. As medical studies have shown, it takes lesser facial muscles to smile than to frown. So, why not SMILE!

3. Stand Up ... for what you believe in! And this is in the context of good values like integrity, honesty, respect to elders and hard work.

4. Look Up ... to God! We may, at one time or another, encounter difficult and discouraging situations and we may feel despair. Don't worry, look up to God for He is a God of mercies! And He can help!

5. Reach Up ... to higher goals in life! Always aim for excellence (and not perfection). Attitude affects our altitude. When we aim higher we can take off to reach our aspirations!

6. Lift Up ... in prayer! St Andrew's School has a unique culture of praying. There is a God that listens to all our prayers! Whenever and whatever the situation may be, you can always count on the Christian teachers or the Chaplaincy team to pray for you.

7. Up & On! Be proud of being part of this fantastic family of St Andrew's. Be like many Saints who feel a sense of belonging to this "one family unbroken".

Chaplain

Jan 2010

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School and the Art of BBQ

The start of a new year is always filled with excitement and enthusiasm to improve on past year’s achievement. Most people would look forward to a new year just like they would look forward to attending a BBQ party by the seaside.

I am not sure how many of you here can start a fire at a BBQ pit but I shall take this chance to give you some ideas and at the same time to help you draw out lessons which you can apply to your studies.

First, to start the entire process of BBQing, we need a fire starter and some match sticks. These are the basic items without which there would be no fire to cook anything. This is similar to you being regularly present in school and paying attention to your teachers in class.

Next, the fire. Primary school science tells us that for fire to be sustained, oxygen is needed. Have you seen any professional satay seller using his mouth to blow at the fire to cook his sticks of satay? Of course not!! Why? Simply because what comes out from his mouth is carbon dioxide which will eventually extinguish the much needed fire. Very counter-productive I must say. Many of you would know that oxygen or fresh air is best generated by constant fanning. This consistent but tiring hardwork will ensure heat from the fire is maintained at an even rate to bring about the ideal temperature for cooking. Likewise, your consistent work effort throughout the year will surely reap great rewards for you. The taste of academic success is certainly no less as delicious as the most succulent meat cooked over an even fire.

Who can tell me what is another thing that is very much needed for a BBQ fire? That’s right, charcoal. An expert BBQ person knows that the charcoal used must be dry, not too big and built around the burning fire starter like a pyramid. This is the most efficient structure to sustain and support the fire. The quality of the charcoal cannot be compromised if you want to have a fantastic and memorable BBQ meal. The quality of your work in the classroom is essential for your own learning. Just now I mentioned about the pyramidal structure to which the charcoals are placed around the fire. The key idea here is having a structure. Your school experience will be so much more meaningful if you put in personal structures or routine to support the teaching done by your teachers. For example, do you have a daily time table that balances work, play and exercise? Are you aware of your personal strengths and weaknesses? Do you have some one to turn to if you need extra coaching? These are personal structures that sustain your fire of learning.

Before I conclude, let me share a biblical story taken from the Gospel of Matthew Chap 20: 29 - 34

Two Blind Men Receive Sight
 29As Jesus and his disciples were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him. 30Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was going by, they shouted, "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!"

 31The crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!"

 32Jesus stopped and called them. "What do you want me to do for you?" he asked.

 33"Lord," they answered, "we want our sight."

 34Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him.

Surely, as the Son of God, Jesus knew very well the desire of the blind men and yet he asked them to take responsibility of their desire. Unless the blind men were certain of what they really wanted, Jesus was not about to grant them their wish. Just like the blind men, do you know what you want out of your education here in St. Andrew’s? For this year?

To conclude, be very sure what your targets are and then set in place the personal structures that will ensure enduring consistent work to keep the best of results coming your way. God bless all of you.