A deeply personal reflection on falling short, losing support, and still finding the strength to continue fighting for family, purpose, and impact.
“How to deal with failure…is a question that has followed me like a shadow,” I pondered, my boots crunching the gravel beneath as I continued my lonely journey across the country. No fanfare, no sponsorship, no funds raised—just me and the wide-open road, my dream to raise awareness now just a whisper on the wind. Despite the echoing silence of my supporters, I could still hear the faint murmur of a quote from Philippians 4:13 in my mind, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
In this journey, I’ve found that when we fall—and, oh, how I’ve fallen—we must pick ourselves up. It’s in the getting up, the dusting off, the pushing forward where we discover our true selves. And it’s in the face of relentless failure, one after another, that I’ve unearthed a reservoir of strength I never knew I had.
Belief, I’ve discovered, is a powerful thing. It’s been my North Star, guiding me through failure after failure, reminding me that I still have a purpose. It’s the resonance that I’m always seeking—the quiet ‘click’ that says, “Yes, this is it. This is what you’re meant to do.” It’s not an easy journey, but it’s mine.
My whole life has been a battle, one I willingly enlist in every morning when I open my eyes. I’ll continue to fight until I draw my last breath, with the hope that in the end, I will have made a difference. But it hasn’t been easy—especially with the constant fallout of support from radio hosts like Carlos Galindos to Chris Kettner. Yet, their voices dim in comparison to my own internal dialogue.
The silence from the countless TV news channels and newspapers has been deafening. It’s been a stark reminder of my ill knowledge in the PR world and my inability to share my ‘human interest’ story effectively. Despite these failures, though, I’ve learned. And isn’t that part of dealing with failure—learning, growing, adapting?
Perhaps my biggest failure, my heaviest burden, is my inability to bring my wife and children to America. This struggle, hand in hand with the constant battle with the IRS to prove I have a family to support, is a bitter pill to swallow. But I’ll continue to fight, for them and for my dream.
Dealing with failure isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer. It’s a journey. It’s understanding that each fall, each stumble, each failure is simply a stepping stone leading us to where we’re meant to be. And maybe, just maybe, it’s in the face of these failures that we find our true purpose.