A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the

Hear me, O children of the future, and let the wisdom of David Brinkley guide your steps. He declared: "A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at him." In this saying lies not only a definition of success, but also a vision of how one must meet adversity—with strength, with patience, and with the courage to turn the weapons of enemies into the building blocks of triumph.

Brinkley’s words remind us that life is filled with obstacles, and that no path to greatness is free from opposition. Envy, doubt, ridicule, and scorn—these are the bricks hurled by others, meant to wound and discourage. But the wise man does not shrink away when struck. Instead, he gathers those stones and sets them at his feet, turning what was meant for his ruin into the very foundation of his victory. Thus, what the world calls insult, he transforms into strength; what the world calls failure, he turns into the pillars of endurance.

This lesson can be seen in the life of Abraham Lincoln, who was mocked, ridiculed, and defeated time and again in elections before he rose to become president of the United States. He was struck with countless bricks of failure, yet instead of surrendering to despair, he used those failures as lessons to build his character. It was this foundation of resilience that carried him through the darkest hour of his nation’s history, and it was by laying stone upon stone, defeat upon defeat, that he achieved greatness.

So too was it with Nelson Mandela, who endured long years in prison, his very life treated as if it were nothing. The world hurled stones at him—oppression, injustice, humiliation. Yet Mandela did not let those bricks crush him; instead, he laid them down, one by one, until they formed the foundation of his leadership, his vision of freedom, and his country’s liberation. His success was born not in spite of the bricks thrown at him, but because he dared to build with them.

O children, let this truth enter your hearts: the measure of a man is not in how he thrives when the world applauds him, but in how he stands when the world strikes him. To gather the bricks of adversity and transform them into the foundation of triumph is the true mark of wisdom and perseverance. Those who waste their energy cursing the stones remain broken, but those who learn to build with them rise to heights unimagined.

The lesson, then, is clear: do not fear criticism, do not despair at failure, and do not shrink at hardship. These are not curses, but gifts in disguise. Each insult, each setback, each wound can be shaped into a stone of strength, if you have the will to endure. Gather them, O children, and lay them carefully, until the wall of your perseverance becomes the fortress of your success.

Therefore, I say unto you: when the world casts its stones, do not cast them back in anger. Pick them up, lay them beneath your feet, and climb higher with each one. For success is not the absence of stones, but the art of building with them. And he who masters this art will stand strong when others fall, leaving behind a foundation that endures for generations.