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Persistence WILL Pay Off
by Nick Worton
We are used to living in a fast-paced world.
You can have just about anything you want and have it just
about when you want it.
Food can be delivered to your door in 20 minutes or less.
Information about anything is just a mouse click away via
the Internet. Everything has become about speed.
In such a fast-paced society, persistence has been forgotten.
Commercials scream that they have found the latest quick fix.
People set goals and then days later become discouraged when
nothing happens.
How many New Year’s resolutions are broken before the
party is even over?
Stop for a minute and think – what is it that you want?
How much time have you really invested in it?
An Olympic athlete does not become an instant success overnight
– he has spent hours of practice and training to hone
his abilities.
A concert pianist cannot pound out a difficult song with
just minutes of practice – without hours of exercises
she would sound like a two-year-old beating on the keys.
Rome was not built in a day. Why should any goals that you
have be any different?
Calvin Coolidge once said,
"Nothing in this world can take the place
of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than
unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded
genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world
is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination
alone are omnipotent. The slogan 'press on' has solved and
always will solve the problems of the human race."
Do you have the persistence it takes to press on?
Dennis Waitley says,
"Success is almost totally dependent upon
drive and persistence. The extra energy required to make another
effort or try another approach is the secret of winning."
Those who have persistence are the ones that meet their goals.
They are the ones that are successful in what they do. They
are the ones that the world looks up to and admires.
What is persistence?
According to Webster’s New World Dictionary, it is "continuing,
especially in the face of opposition."
It is that ability to get out of bed and say that you are
going to do something for one more day – and to do that
every morning.
It is being like the tortoise in the immortal story of the
tortoise and the hare that realizes that "slow and steady
wins the race."
It is holding onto that dream you have with such bulldog
tenacity that you will let nothing and no one rip it from
you.
Everyone has known persistence once. How many times have
you watched a young child struggle to crawl or walk? They
reach and they stretch and they fall down and they get back
up. If you did not have persistence you would never have gotten
this far in life - you would still be helpless infants in
your mother's arms.
According to Napoleon Hill,
"Persistence is to the character of man
as carbon is to steel."
You just have to learn how to find that persistence again.
Life in the world is very competitive, and we have to learn
not to fear obstacles but to embrace them. Otherwise we will
be trampled by those who can.
What do you have to lose? If you do not change what you are
doing, you will continue on at the status quo.
According to Ted W. Engstrom,
"The rewards for those who persevere far
exceed the pain that must precede the victory."
Everything comes with a cost - The price is persistence.
With persistence you can achieve anything. It might not be
instantaneous, but a little bit every day over a long time
can add up. With each brick a house is built higher. With
each shovel full a hole is dug deeper. With each note a musician
improves. Over time the tiny steps can build into magnificent
results.
The main thing behind persistence is to focus on the positives.
"Enter every activity without giving mental
recognition to the possibility of defeat. Concentrate on your
strengths, instead of your weaknesses... on your powers, instead
of your problems"
says Paul J. Meyer.
No one can move a mountain
with one push,
but everyone can move a single stone.
Over time, stone by stone,
that mountain will be moved.
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