Recently I saw the new animated movie, Meet the Robinsons. In this children's movie, a young orphan named Louis invents his own gadgets and contraptions while at the same time attempts to impress various couples at adoption meetings. Every time he as a meeting he attempts to show off his latest invention and each time something goes horribly wrong and so in turn, Louis is seemingly forever confined within the walls of the orphanage home. Then, through a series of fantastic and impractical (including traveling through time), Louis meets the Robinsons.
This family is vastly different from the other couples Louis had experiences with in the past. When Louis failed to repair their manservant/robot, they congratulated him. At first Louis was confused by this sudden outburst of admiration in such an inappropriate situation. But then it is explained to him that failure should not be looked on negatively but rather as a learning experience in preparation for the future success.
Although this is but a child's movie, its message can easily be tied in with the familiar quote, “The greatest success is failure.” A seemingly ironic statement at first glance, this quote should be applied to every aspect of our life. In life we all fail and come short of the majority of tasks we undertake. Every failure seems to drag us down further from our goals and separate us further from success. But please, take heed and remember the simple yet profound message of this animated film which can so easily be applied to our own lives. Believe it or not, with every failure we are one step closer to success.
