…and it’s not financial

Tons of people have gone bankrupt and succeeded anyway. It's because they avoided the one type of bankruptcy that would have ended it all. And it has nothing to do with money.

The following Presidents all went bankrupt financially:

- Abraham Lincoln A bunch of really bad general stores

- Ulysses Grant After he was President

- Thomas Jefferson Multiple times before and after being President

- William McKinley Just three years before becoming President.

Following a just a very few business people who went bankrupt and were still successful:

- Henry Ford His Detroit Automobile Company went bankrupt in 1899. Henry Ford Company was failing when he left in 1903 to start Ford Motor Company.

- Walt Disney Bankrupt in 1922, created Mickey Mouse in 1928, and in the 60's had to go to 302 banks before the 303rd would give him money for his insane idea to start an "amusement" park called Disneyland.

- Milton Hershey Went bankrupt twice trying make candy, then hit it big with Hershey's Chocolate.

- H.J. Heinz In 1875 his horseradish company went bankrupt. The next year he started a ketchup company that does $10 billion a year now.

- P.T Barnum Bankrupt in 1855. Then in 1871 at age 61 he started a circus. a stupid idea no bank would support, especially with a guy who had been bankrupt. It raked in over $10 million in today's dollars the first year.

Commitment Bankruptcy

I personally know a number of people who went bankrupt financially, but they all share the same trait as those above; they never went bankrupt personally.

I don't mean personal financial bankruptcy, I mean "commitment bankruptcy", which would have destroyed their personal vision, personal motivation, personal willingness to pick themselves up and do it again, and as a result, their personal commitment to keep going.

Looking at the example of these people's lives, financial bankruptcy is clearly never fatal. But if you lose your vision, stop believing you can do it, or just get tired and quit, you've suffered the only bankruptcy that is permanent - Commitment Bankruptcy.

Gradually, Then Suddenly

Stay in the habit of getting back on the horse regularly. If you quit the small things, it will create a habit of quitting that can lead you to quitting the big things. We suffer Commitment Bankruptcy the same way we suffer financial bankruptcy - gradually; then suddenly.

Financial bankruptcy is temporary. Commitment bankruptcy is fatal.

Get back on the horse today and ride.