By Reverend Paul N. Papas II
December 2, 2025
No one remembers also-rans. You don’t learn without study. You don’t increase your muscular or spiritual strength without exercise.
Success is not overnight. Success is the result of learning from setbacks.
When you walk in a dark room your hand would normally search for a light switch. We take for granted that homes and offices have plenty of light, heat and air conditioning. We usually don’t consider the failures and hard word the inventor of electricity encountered before seeing his vision and success unfold before his eyes.
This well known example comes from inventor Thomas Edison.
“Thomas Edison tried over 2000 different filaments before he was able to create a market viable light bulb. Some filaments burnt out. Others were too expensive to source. Still others were too labor intensive.
Edison and his team invested countless hours exploring these dead ends. Each filament took days or even weeks of work before it could be discounted as a possibility. Some showed early signs of success— burning bright and seeming to last — only to be proved as a non viable option over time.
Stories say that Edison would become nearly giddy with each failed attempt. He loved failure! He’s credited with saying: “Negative results are just what I want. They’re just as valuable to me as positive results. I can never find the thing that does the job best until I find the ones that don’t.”
It’s hard for many of us to imagine enjoying investing so much time and energy in exploring a possibility only to come to a dead end— yet that’s the reality of the creative process for Edison. He wasn’t succeeding unless he was failing. To put it in Edison’s words: “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”’ (1)
Thomas Edison overcame dyslexia to be the successful inventor we know.
He found 10,000 ways it does not work.
A champion weight lifter didn’t start out by lifting heavy weights. He trained for years starting with lighter weights and plenty of repetition. He entered competitions where he lost and won some. Each loss motivated him to work harder and refine his routine to achieve greater rewards.
The weight lifter and Thomas Edison learned from each attempt, they grew stronger; they inched closer toward their goal each time.
Neither one of them were satisfied with a participation trophy. Participation trophies are a disincentive to achieve anything. Participation trophies are akin to graduating from college with no more than a first grade education. Participation trophies leave the person with no skills to deal with life, becoming a blob on a couch.
It is also important to work with others to accomplish great things which come through teamwork. Teamwork skills can be learned and refined in the schoolyard, scouting, church groups, playing sports and military service.
Participation trophies don’t help you learn by doing. You cannot become a brain surgeon by watching a you tube video.
Get off the sidelines, get in the game and you won’t be a blob on a couch. You’d be amazed at what can be accomplished thorough study and hard word and how satisfying that can be. Forget the participation trophies, you’ll have to get up and dust them off anyway.
Plenty of people will provide a helping hand if you make a sincere effort.
Plenty of help is available from above.
Keep looking up.
Reverend Paul N. Papas II is a Pastoral Counselor with Narrow Path Ministries (MA and AZ) and Founder of the Family Renewal Center AZ) www.narrowpathministries.org and www.familyrenewalcenteraz.org
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