Have your disappointments ever led to something wonderful that you never expected? Have your failures been stepping stones or have you let them become road blocks?
As I rapidly approach that pinnacle year of 40, I find myself often looking back over my life and wondering where all the time has gone. Twenty years ago I left the Ozarks to make my way in the big city, and it seems just yesterday since I returned to West Plains, Missouri from Philadelphia even though it has already been seven years since my homecoming.

What have I learned in twenty-some years of adulthood? I have learned that we only have today to live. Tomorrow might come and yesterday is over. I have also learned that all the events in my life that have been dismal failures now seem but stepping stones to the eventual accomplishments and joys I have had in my life.

Many self-esteem experts are loathe to use the word,