I only practiced when no one was around， because if someone had seen me， they might have thought I was into cellular self-abuse. I won‘t tell you how many times I whacked myself in the head or nose with my cell phone—or how many cell phones died in the mastery of the task. I could afford to take a few hits and to replace a few cell phones. What I couldn’t afford to do was give up.
Every time that cell phone cracked me in the face， I became more and more motivated to master the feat， and eventually I did！ Of course， as fate would have it， shortly after I finally mastered the skill， the tech world came out with Bluetooth headsets that rest in your ear. Now my famous cell-phone flip is a relic of technology past and it‘s just something I do to entertain friends when they’re bored.
I encourage you to look at your own setbacks and pratfalls as sources of motivation and inspiration. There‘s no shame in falling short， striking out， tripping up， or screwing up. It’s only a shame if you don‘t use the motivation from your misses and miscues to try harder and stay in the game.
It helps you appreciate success
The fourth gift of failure is that it serves as success appreciation class. Believe me， after a week of being whapped by my bad cell-phone flips， I felt enormous appreciation when I finally nailed the landing on my shoulder. In fact， the harder you have to work to achieve a goal， the more you will appreciate it. How many times have you looked back from a big victory and thought how sweet it was to finally triumph after your long struggle？ Admit it， the tougher the climb， the better the view at the top.
One of my favorite childhood Bible stories was that of Joseph， the favored but proud son whose jealous brothers sold him into slavery. Joseph had a rough go for a long time. He was falsely accused of a crime， thrown into prison， and betrayed time and again by people he trusted. But Joseph didn’t give up. He didn‘t let bitterness or failure defeat him. He persevered to become the ruler of Egypt who saved his people.
There are many lessons to draw from Joseph’s struggles and his ultimate ascension to the throne. One I learned is that success may not come without pain. Joseph‘s trials helped me understand that while my life certainly seemed harder than most， others suffered more yet endured and achieved greatness. I saw that while God loves us， He makes no promises that life will be easy. And finally， I saw that once Joseph emerged from his many trials and betrayals， he savored his triumph by becoming a great and just king.
When you put your whole heart into achieving a goal and you go through great pain and suffering along the way， the feeling of achievement once you break through is so incredible that you just want to build on it， don’t you？ I don‘t think that is an accident. It may be one of the main reasons humankind has come so far. We celebrate tough victories not because we survived the effort but because our nature is to keep growing and seeking even higher levels of fulfillment.
In those times when God makes me work harder and harder for my goals， putting one stumbling block after another in my path， I truly believe that He is preparing me for bigger and better days. He throws challenges at us because He knows that when we go through failure， we grow.
Looking back at all I had to overcome at such a young age—the pain， the insecurity， the hurt， the loneliness—I don’t feel sad. I feel humbled and grateful because I overcame those challenges that make my successes all the sweeter. In the end， they made me stronger， and， more important， they made me better equipped to reach out to others. Without my pain I would never be able to help anybody else deal with their pain. I wouldn‘t be able to relate so well with other people. As I approached my teen years， the knowledge of what I’d overcome made me more confident. That new level of self-confidence， in turn， attracted other kids to me. I formed a big circle of male and female friends. I loved the attention！ I‘d wheel around school basking in the warmth.
Of course， you know where that led—to politics. I summoned the courage to run for the school captain—which was the presidency of the entire student body of twelve hundred kids at MacGregor State School， which was like a combined junior high and high school and one of the largest schools in Queensland.
Not only was I the first physically disabled kid to run for school captain， I was running against one of the best athletes in the school’s history—Matthew McKay， who is now a famous soccer player in Australia. My teacher， Mrs. Hurley， encouraged me to run after I was surprised to be nominated by my classmates. I ran on a platform of diversity and multiculturalism， and my campaign promise was to hold wheelchair races on school sports day.
I won in a landslide （sorry Matthew）. My mum still has a clip from the Courier-Mail newspaper， which featured a big photograph and story with a headline hailing me as “Captain Courageous.”
The same newspaper quoted me as saying： “All wheelchair kids， I reckon， should just give everything a go.”
My boyhood slogan may not be as recognized as Nike‘s “Just Do It！” but it served me well. You will fail because you are human. You will fall because the path is rough. But know that your failures too are part of the gift of life， so put them to their highest use. Don’t stop， mate. Give everything a go！
