In an Oklahoma Christian University Brew Talk discussing success and failure Nov. 9, Distinguished Professor of Communication Philip Patterson shared his experience with failure and what led to his success. Patterson is the author of 11 books, including “The Greatest Stories of the Bible,” “The Electronic Millstone: Christian Parenting in a Media Age” and “Media Ethics: Issues and Cases,” which is the leading textbook in media ethics.
Patterson said the idea for his first book, “The Electronic Millstone: Christian Parenting in a Media Age,” came to him when he was in his fourth year teaching at Oklahoma Christian and became interested in how the media was affecting children. However, Patterson said the real story lies in the rejection letters he received from 2 publishers.
“They just didn’t need a title from a relatively unknown author in Oklahoma,” Patterson said. “At the time, you had about a 5 percent chance of getting published at all—now, you only have about a 1 percent chance. As fate would have it, on the 21st time I tried, I got a letter saying, ‘Hey. We like that. We not only like it, but do you have any other ideas?’”
Patterson went on to work for several different publishers, which ultimately led to him writing for the biggest Christian publisher in the world and getting his books onto bookshelves. According to Patterson, his journey to success, and what he learned along the way, matters more than the actual success.
Following his experience with failure and success, Patterson developed a formula for what constitutes success, including a mixture of giftedness, opportunity, timing, luck, hard work and divine providence.
In relation to giftedness, Patterson said Walt Disney did society a disservice when he said, “If you can dream it, you can do it,” because a person’s talents affect their ability to do something.
“I think, if you can dream it and you are gifted in that way, you can do it,” Patterson said. “The first thing we have to admit is we have to stay inside our realm of giftedness. For me, it was words—I read at three years old, didn’t go to preschool, didn’t go to kindergarten. I don’t know why, but if I didn’t work in words, I would be pushing a boulder uphill if I tried anything else. To me, the definition of genius is what you can’t do.”
According to Patterson, timing and opportunities, which may or may not arrive when expected also play a role in success. In a study by the New York Times of 2,000 notable obituaries, researchers revealed the average age of significant achievements was 37 years old, which was also the case for Patterson, who published his first book when he was 37.
“On average, they lived to be 81, and it took them until 37 for the world to figure out they were something special,” Patterson said. “So that means, for the first 15 years after you graduate, you’re off the hook. You’re going to be taken more seriously the older you get.”
“You’ve got opportunities, and opportunities come in a lot of places—I mean, look at Jesus. Someone said, ‘Can anything good come out of Nazareth?’ It’d be like our savior coming out of Chickasha or something.”
Along with luck and hard work, Patterson said divine providence begins at the end of luck and inspires him to continue working hard and pressing on “toward the goal.” He also shared two stories of individuals who achieved success and how they handled challenges, setbacks, failures and success.
“Thomas Edison tried a thousand things for the light bulb until he found the filament that worked,” Patterson said. “He didn’t quit there. Then, he got on the wrong side of the AC/DC debate and put millions into battery-operated cities, lied and he lost. But the thing is, almost every major accomplishment of Edison’s life happened after that setback.
“Another individual, who you don’t hear about in high school, is Edwin Armstrong. He invented FM radio and won many awards. However, when he did not get the credit, fame and financial awards he thought he deserved, he jumped to his death from his Manhattan apartment.”
According to Patterson, the different between Edison and Armstrong is Edison embraced the future while Armstrong litigated the past.
“Folks, we’ve all failed,” Patterson said. “We’ve also all made mistakes. We’ve also had injustices done to us. And the quicker you can let go of all those things—like the apostle Paul says, ‘Letting go of what’s past, pressing on to the goal’—the better off you’re going to be.”
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