How has a failure, or apparent failure, set you up for later success? My car was repossessed. For about a minute I thought of myself as a failure, not responsible, not taking care of of business, not a good financial steward.

Then I realized the gift: I was relived of the financial drain of the car payments and insurance that was taking up a disproportionate amount of my income and I could get around much less inexpensively. I wasn’t stressed out about the car payments or care, less time running errands for others. I could take the money I spent on my car and save, spend, and share it.