Chapter 1
THE success OF FAILURE
F
or me, near failure led to success. Seldom does that actually happen. However, in my case it certainly did. In looking back on my life, my near failure had a molding influence on my life. I nearly flunked out of Vanderbilt University, but instead of being a bad thing, that experience turned out to be one of the most significant events in my life. As I reflect over my life, I can identify several lifechanging events. My poor performance at Vanderbilt was one of the most significant. I had spent three years at Vanderbilt University in Nashville and could not even achieve enough of a grade-point average to get initiated into my fraternity, Kappa Sigma. For the first two years I had to go to summer school to get readmitted for the regular school year in the fall. At the end of my third year, Dad took me aside to see how I was doing. What he found out was not pleasant. I was going to have to go to summer school that summer as well in order to be readmitted in the fall. But that wasn’t the worst part. To graduate I was going to have to go an extra year at Vanderbilt if I didn’t change my major. If I did change majors—something I was seriously considering—I would have to go another two years. When Dad heard all of this, he explained matters to me in a little different light. “We are not going to have that. You are going to graduate in four years or I’m going to the draft board and ask them to move your draft number to the top of the list.” Since I knew he had several friends on the board, I knew that he was not just making idle threats. To say the least, that got my attention. I knew I had to do something and do it quickly. At the end of my third year at Vanderbilt, I transferred to the University of Chattanooga, which at that time was a private university. The school later became a part of the University of Tennessee system. I went to summer school at UC and took some courses UC required that Vanderbilt did not. I did okay in summer school—a C average— nothing to write home about. But something caught fire my last two semesters my senior year. I had a B+ overall. My experience proved that Dad made the right decision by forcing me to attend UC.
Life-changing Event
Used by permission
Kirkland Hall, Vanderbilt University
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At the time Dad made this decision about my life, it hurt. I didn’t like being told what I could and could not do. However, in retrospect, that event turned my life around. My newfound academic achievements gave me confidence. I discovered I had a mind and enjoyed using it. From that point on, I would characterize my life as one of achievement. I wanted to excel in everything I did. This was the first of several significant life-changing events that occurred in my life. All through my life, I have been fortunate enough to use these lifechanging events and turn them into good.
My Selective Service Card 1-A. 16 January 1959
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Faith for the Mountains and the Valleys: The Charley Winger Story