Success and failure after 30

While riding in a car with a few friends, the conversation jumped to every topic. We covered life, landscaping, love...but one comment sticks out.

"Success has nothing to teach a man after 30...."
We were talking about spiritual formation theory. My friend, Henry, a man in his 40s shared about some of the lessons and choices he was making. We talked about ascending and descending and spiritual journeys. And then this comment about success came out.

I've been thinking about it a lot and wondering what it means. Intuitively, it makes a lot of sense. But what does it reveal about the formation of non-whites or women? For Asian American women, for female Christians, is it success or failure, or stagnation that God uses to speak and shape us in this middle season?

I wondered about success and its connection to self-doubt. Tracey covers self-doubt well in her chapter on leadership. I continue to be surprised at the prevalance of self-doubt among many women leaders. How does God work with us in our self-doubt, and what does he use to shape us into people who understand the power of God? Is a ministry success part of understanding, for women, God's power...is it connected to the self-doubt that most women leaders experience. Or is it something else?