“Fear makes us realize what scares us.” VIKTOR FRANKL

Almost everyone has heard of the Wright brothers, those bicycle mechanics who pioneered manned motorized flight in the early 20th century. The circumstances surrounding Orville and Wilbur Wright’s first flight on December 17, 1903, are most interesting. (It’s a story that undoubtedly illustrates the art of overcoming adversity). But what you may not know is that before this day, the Wright brothers, unknowns without college degrees, were not the leaders in the field of aviation. Their existence wasn’t even suspected, and it was expected that someone else would fly the first airplane.

That someone was Dr. Samuel P. Langley, a former professor of mathematics and astronomy, highly respected, who at that time was the director of the Smithsonian Institution. Dr. Langley was a accomplished thinker, a man of science, and an inventor. He had published several important works on aerodynamics, and he had developed a theory on how to fly an airplane. In fact, from the mid to late 1890s, he had conducted extensive experiments with large remote-controlled models and had achieved very conclusive results.

MISSION: SUCCEED

In 1898, Samuel P. Langley approached the United States War Department and requested a grant to design and build an airplane that would be piloted by a human. The department granted him $50,000, a colossal sum at the time. Samuel P. Langley immediately got to work. By 1901, he had successfully tested a heavier-than-air machine powered by a gasoline engine. It was a first in history. And when he recruited Charles Manley, an engineer who had designed a powerful and lightweight engine from the plans of Stephen Balzar, his success seemed inevitable.

On October 8, 1903, Dr. Langley hoped to see the culmination of all his years of work. As journalists and onlookers eagerly awaited, Charles Manley, clad in a cork-lined jacket, walked across the bridge of a barge and boarded the aircraft that had been named the Great Aerodrome. The aircraft was perched on a specially designed catapult to launch the aerodrome. But when the launch was attempted, the aerodrome got stuck, and the airplane plunged into the water nearly 5 meters deep, barely 45 meters from the boat.

Samuel P. Langley faced harsh criticism. Consider this article from The New York Times: “The ridiculous fiasco that crowned the attempt at aerial navigation by means of the device designed by Samuel P. Langley is no surprise. The flying machine that will truly fly will be the result of the combined efforts of mathematicians and mechanics within one to ten million years… there is no doubt that some are passionate about the subject, but the common man feels that all these efforts could be better channeled.”

CONFRONTED WITH FAILURE

Initially, Samuel P. Langley was not discouraged by the failure and subsequent criticism. Eight weeks later, in early December, Charles Manley and he were ready to attempt another trial. They had made countless modifications to the Aerodrome, and Charles Manley once again climbed into the cockpit, ready to write a new chapter in history.

But catastrophe struck once again. The cable supporting the wings of the aircraft snapped during takeoff, causing the plane to slide off the launching ramp and plunge into the river like a nosedive. Charles Manley nearly lost his life in this accident.

Once again, the critics were severe. Samuel P. Langley’s Great Aerodrome was dubbed “Langley’s folly,” and its designer was accused of squandering public funds. The following comment appeared in The New York Times: “We hope Professor Langley will not further jeopardize his great reputation as a man of science by continuing to waste his time and squander money on such experiments.” And he didn’t.

Samuel P. Langley later said, “I have accomplished the work that I was commissioned to do, that is, the practical aspect of powered flight. As for the next step, the practical and commercial applications, it is likely that the world will have to look elsewhere.” In other words, Samuel P. Langley threw in the towel. Defeated and demoralized, he abandoned research he had pursued for several decades without ever seeing one of his projects succeed. A few days later, Orville and Wilbur Wright, two uneducated, unknown, and unsubsidized men, flew their aircraft named “Flyer I” over the sand dunes of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.

TWO PERSPECTIVES

Author J.L. Packer states: “A moment of triumph makes us think that nothing will ever matter again; a disaster makes us believe it’s the end of everything. But neither of these feelings is realistic because neither of these events is truly as we feel it.“

The Wright brothers did not rest on their laurels. Their feat on that December day in 1903 did not make them believe they had achieved their ultimate goal. They continued to experiment and work, and eventually, the public recognized their achievements.

In contrast, Dr. Langley let a disastrous moment make him believe that everything was over. He abandoned his experiments. Two years later, he suffered a stroke and died the following year. Today, while even young schoolchildren have heard of the Wright brothers, only a few aviation enthusiasts remember Samuel P. Langley.

WHEN FAILURE HITS YOU HARD

What happened in Professor Langley’s life also happens in the lives of far too many people today. They allow failure to emotionally undermine the best of themselves, preventing them from realizing their dreams.

Let’s face it. Failure can be very painful—sometimes physically, more often emotionally. Watching part of your dreams crumble can hurt deeply. And it’s even worse if the person who failed feels ridiculed in the eyes of others.

“The first important step in overcoming failure is to learn not to take it personally,” and to understand that failure does not make you a loser. But that’s not all. Many people have their failure pain turn into fear of failure. And they become like the one who says, “I’m too big to cry, but laughter hurts too much.” It’s at this point that many people get stuck in the cycle of fear. And once fear overwhelms them, it’s virtually impossible for them to overcome adversity…

This text is an excerpt from the book “Overcoming Adversity: How to Use Your Mistakes as a Springboard to Success” written by John c. Maxwell.

We invite you to read the following article “Exit the Highway of Failure.“