“If were asked to give what I consider the single most useful bit of advice for all humanity it would be this: Expect trouble as an inevitable/predictable part of life and when it comes, hold your head high, look it squarely in the eye and say, I will be bigger than you. You cannot defeat me.” Ann Landers
“The possibilities of what life can be if a person has a goal in mind, then puts his or her heart, soul, and mind into meeting the goal.” “Decide what you want out of life; look on the positive side; and never give up until you achieve it.” Bill Porter
“I feel all these setbacks were tools for me to learn from. I used them as stepping-stones and didn’t see them as failures. A failure is when you stop trying, and I never did that.” Tom Monaghan
“Nothing comes easy, you have to work hard for everything. And no matter how small your voice is, I believe you can make a difference.” Laura-Beth Moore
“I knew instinctively/unconsciously that my unyielding/firm drive was my most important asset. Perseverance will always be just as important – important as talent. Never stop believing! Never give up! Never quit! Never.” Joan Rivers
“I persevered against the odds/probability and against the rules because I believed in my dreams. It would have been more difficult for me to live with that unfulfilled passion than it was to fight to make it happen.” Shirley Muldowney
Action Plan: Perseverance Rewards Your Efforts
“Never…Never… Never quit”
Step 1: Focus on Your Goal
Achievers keep their eyes on the target at all times. They often use visual keys to remind them through the day of goal they’re working toward. Olympic gold medalist Bruce Jenner arrange his entire apartment so it would remind him everyday of his goal and since the high hurdle was his weakest skill, he placed a hurdle right in the middle of the living room, where he had to step over it as many as 30 times a day.
Action: Create a constant reminder of your goal. By now, I’m hoping you’ve identified your purpose, written your statement of calling, and created a dream that evokes your passion. The next step is to keep that dream and the goals that support it at the forefront of your mind. Here are just a few of the many ways you could do so:
- Write your statement of calling and goals on note cards or Post-It Notes and strategically place them throughout your house and office.
- Record your statement of calling and goals on an audio cassette and play the tape as you’re driving chores, resting, or meditating.
- Put your goals on the screen saver of your computer.
Sir Isaac Newton was asked how he discovered the law of gravity and he replied, “ By thinking about it all the time.”
Step 2: Accept Failures as Learning Experiences
“Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising every time we fail.” Confucius
“Many people dream of success. To me, success can be achieved only through repeated failure and introspection. In fact, success represents the 1 percent of your work that results from 99 percent that is called failure.” Soichiro Honda
Honda has said that hundreds of other achievers have said before him. You may remember that Edison said he would have invented the light bulb without first failing at 4,000 experiments. Being able to see failure as an opportunity for learning and improvement is critical to becoming unstoppable. People who can’t bear a moment of failure have doomed themselves to mediocrity, for they’ll never be able to push themselves past a point that is uncomfortable or unfamiliar. Yet it is beyond that point where success dwells.
“If you’re not willing to risk the unusual, you will have to settle for the ordinary.” Jim Rohn
Step 3. Be Patient – Cultivate a Long-Term Mentality
We live in a society that demands and has grown accustomed/familiar to instant gratification/fulfillment. Most people today lack the persistence necessary to achieve their goals. Unfortunately, there are no fast-food outlets serving up our dreams. Achieving your dream takes time. Every moment you are working, you can take comfort in realizing you are moving closer and closer to your dream. That work, the journey itself, is the adventure and half of the reward. Don’t shortchange it.
“Don’t let me ever hear you use the word ‘impossible.’ If I’ve learned anything over the course of my career, there’s no such thing as impossible. Overnight, the impossible may not be possible. But over time, the impossible certainly becomes possible.” Earl Graves
Step 4: Never Quit
Ann Landers advises us to “expect trouble as an inevitable/unavoidable part of life. When it comes, hold your head high, look it squarely in the eye and say, “I will be bigger than you. You cannot defeat me.” Pursue your dream with confidence and never, never, never quit. If you don’t give up, you simply cannot fail. Not only will you achieve your dream, but the combination of your commitment, courage, and faith will rise as the greatest triumph of all.
“It took me fifteen years to discover that I had no talent for writing, but I couldn’t give it up because by then I was too famous.” Robert Benchley
