“I used to be afraid of failing at something that really mattered to me, but now I’m more afraid of succeeding at things that don’t matter.”

A thought by Bob Goff, (2012-05-01) from his book, Love Does: Discover a Secretly Incredible Life in an Ordinary World (p. 25). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.

This thought reminds me of the guy who said, “I gave my life to climbing up the ladder of success to find at the end that it was leaning against the wrong wall.”

So many times we do what we do out of fear of failing. We just don’t want to look bad in the eyes of those who really matter to us. It is so important for us to be a real success at no matter at. So we do whatever we can to keep from failing, to keep from looking bad that we will do anything to succeed. That’s what it is all about isn’t it? Success.

But Bob says that he has found that he is more afraid at succeeding at things that don’t matter, things that don’t make a difference in the world that he lives in.

I remember when we moved to Las Vegas to plant a new church. We were so excited but we found ourselves in a deep financial hole. Because of sickness in a close family member in Indiana my wife Margaret wasn’t able to work consistently and that really hurt us financially. I don’t know if you realize it but Vegas makes it money off of people who believe that if they put money in a machine that all of their needs will be met. Well it was a temptation for us. The problem for me wasn’t that I was afraid that we would lose all our money but I was afraid that we would win and then gambling would always be an option when we were in need.

If we succeed at the thing that isn’t meaningful then it means that we won’t try doing what we were built to do. Being a success can keep us from doing what really is our dream.

So what are you giving your life to?

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