Built by Wins, Shaped by Lessons

Failure is not a permanent destination if you perceive it correctly. There is such a thing as Failing Forward, which has its power in Learning Through Trials. In business and leadership, setbacks are inevitable, but failure doesn't have to be final. What if your most significant leadership or entrepreneurial growth is found not in your success but in your struggle?

"Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from what He suffered."

— Hebrews 5:8 (NIV)

God uses every moment, including hardship, to shape marketplace leaders with eternal impact. Even Jesus, our perfect example, learned obedience through the things He suffered (Hebrews 5:8). If Christ grew through trial, shouldn't we embrace growth through Adversity, too?

Learning Is the New Winning

In his book “Sometimes You Win, Sometimes You Learn” , John Maxwell turns the common notion of failure on its head. He writes, "The difference between average people and achieving people is their perception of and response to failure." Maxwell's wisdom echoes a powerful biblical truth: failure is not the end—it's a classroom. I've heard it said like this: " Life is the schoolmaster", and another is "the School of Hard Knocks." In God's economy, trials are not obstacles but opportunities to develop obedience, character, resilience, and innovation.,"

There have been various innovators, Nobel Prize winners, and entrepreneurs who faced significant trials but used those challenges as opportunities to develop vision, purpose, character, resilience, and innovation, ultimately impacting or reshaping the world:

1. Elon Musk (Tesla, SpaceX)

   Trials: Faced multiple company near-bankruptcies, public ridicule, and failed rocket launches.

   Resilience: Persisted through financial and technological crises.

   Impact: Revolutionised electric vehicles, private space exploration, and renewable energy.

2. Steve Jobs (Apple)

   Trials: He was fired from his own company, battled cancer and was often misunderstood.

   Character & Innovation: Returned to lead Apple through one of the most significant corporate comebacks.

   Impact: Shaped modern technology, design, and communication.

3. Howard Schultz (Starbucks)

   Trials: Grew up in housing projects, rejected by over 200 investors.

   Obedience to Vision: Believed in creating a "third place" between home and work.

   Impact: Changed global coffee culture.

4. Thomas Edison (Inventor)

   Trials: Over 1,000 failed attempts to invent the lightbulb.

   Quote: "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work."

   Impact: Brought electricity to the world through persistence and vision.

5. Nelson Mandela (Peace Prize)

   Trials: Spent 27 years in prison.

   Obedience & Character: Forgave his oppressors and led South-Africa through reconciliation.

   Impact: Ended apartheid and became a global symbol of peace and justice.

6. Albert Einstein (Physics)

   Trials: Rejected from academic positions and fled Nazi Germany.

   Innovation: Persisted with his theories despite opposition.

   Impact: Redefined physics and inspired generations of scientists.

7. Corrie ten Boom

   Trials: Imprisoned in Nazi concentration camps for hiding Jews.

   Character & Obedience: Clung to her faith and forgave her captors.

   Impact: Became a global voice for forgiveness and faith.

8. Mother Teresa (Peace Prize)

   Trials: Worked among the poorest of the poor and faced internal spiritual dryness.

   Obedience: Remained committed to her call regardless of feelings.

   Impact: Inspired worldwide service and compassion.

The Common Themes Across All These Leaders: Trials became training grounds for a deeper vision. Obedience to the vision often required rejection of comfort. Resilience and innovation emerged through testing. Their impact was global, but their refinement was personal.

Marketplace Leaders Grow Through the Grind

Like Jesus grew in "wisdom, stature, and favour" ( Luke 2:52), today's best leaders are forged in the furnace of pressure, resistance, and setbacks. Your business or leadership challenges, disappointing deals, or financial downturns are not signs of disqualification they are your training ground.

Here are three biblical and business-tested lessons from trials:

1. Pain Teaches What Comfort Cannot

   Success feels good, but it rarely stretches us. Pain and pressure, however, force us to grow deeper. "Suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope." - Romans 5:3-4 (NIV)

   Principle: "You don't learn from experience. You learn from evaluated experience."

   Ask: What is this pain producing in me?

2. Obedience Is Refined in the Fire

   Jesus was God's Son— yet He still had to learn obedience. That means obedience isn't just about instruction—it's about formation. Leadership means following God's voice even when your business plan is falling apart, or the investors are leaving. It means making integrity-based decisions when shortcuts are tempting.

   Ask: Is this challenge aligning me more with God's character?

3. Trials Expose and Expand Capacity

   Challenges reveal your limits and give you a chance to break them. God doesn't waste a leader's hardship. Every challenge is meant to sharpen your vision, refine your strategy, and build humility. "When your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing." - James 1:4 (NLT)

   Principle: "Adversity makes you stronger. It's how you respond that determines your future."

   Ask: What Capacity is God expanding in me through this?

Let these truths lead your journey: Jesus learned obedience through suffering so can we. Whether you're navigating financial loss, employee turnover, or personal burnout, don't label it as failure label it as a lesson. Because in the Kingdom of God, sometimes you win. Sometimes you learn. But in all things, you grow, gain, and get ahead if you faint or not.

Galatians 6:9 “And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.”

Sincerely yours in Faith,

Shaun Smit

Founder of Legacy Marketplace

www.legacymarketplace.org.au