Persistence

Persistence Succeeds Where Nothing Else Can!

"Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not: Nothing is more common than unsuccessful men 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."...Calvin Coolidge

"Patience, persistence and perspiration make an unbeatable combination for success."...Napoleon Hill

Persistence succeeds where nothing else can. I'll swear by this statement. We all have seen it time and time again.  That little boy who was average at best when they began a sport...but who persisted until they were a force to be reckoned with. The little girl who was told she would never be good enough at singing who went on to become a platinum selling artist. The business person or inventor who was told their vision was "crazy" or unobtainable who summarily discounted those opinions to achieve enormous success. We're all very familiar with these types of stories.

I read a great meme the other day. It said: "Tired of starting over? Quit giving up." Man...how true is that? I know there are at least 500,000 things that I could have mastered had I stayed with them. Okay maybe 10...but you get the point.

And we all know this beyond a shadow of a doubt. All of us have at some time or another persisted in something till we got what we wanted or achieved a goal. And the payoff that comes with doing such is incredible.  The emotional payoff is what I'm talking about here. There's very little that compares to the feeling of taking on something that others say you can't or won't achieve...and then achieving it.  It's like BAM!  Perhaps we all need to remember those victories when we are encountered by the obstacles and setbacks that too often derail us. 

It's important to stay motivated.  Things go wrong.  Mistakes are going to be made.  We just can't let these things crush our souls. Every mistake IS truly a stepping stone for another opportunity. There is, undoubtedly, a lesson...a takeaway from every experience we go through in life. Some of the strongest and wisest people I've ever known or encountered went through unbelievable adversity. Some of their stories were heart wrenching. The types of things you couldn't image experiencing. But they came through demonstrating remarkable resiliency and persistence.

Persistence.  That's what it takes to achieve anything worthwhile. Here's the formula: Persistence + Persistence + Persistence + Persistence + Persistence + Persistence + Persistence + Persistence + Persistence + Persistence = SUCCESS! 

Until next time:

#YouMatterTremendously
#GoldenRuleLifeStrategy

Here's today's video: 

Today Could Be The Day

The Best Day Of Your Life Could Be Today

"Learn from the past, but don't live there.  Build on what you know so that you don't repeat mistakes.  Resolve to learn something new everyday.  Because every 24 hours you have the opportunity to have the best day of (your) company's life....Harvey Mackay

Last Sunday was Father's Day and I made a post about how it was somewhat special as I live in the Greater Cleveland area and the Cleveland Cavaliers were playing for an NBA Championship.  It was Game 7 between the CAVS and the Golden State Warriors and against all odds the CAVS, led by the incredible LeBron James and the young superstar Kyrie Irving, pulled off the upset and won the Championship!  Let me tell you it was an amazing feeling to have a Championship team finally arrive in Cleveland!  The parade that occurred a few days later in downtown Cleveland was spectacular, with an estimated 1.3 million people flooding the area to express their gratitude to the team.

This series between the CAVS and the Warriors can serve to illustrate a few important life lessons.  The CAVS were down in the series 3-1 and pretty much all of the experts expected the Golden State Warriors to close out the series.  After all...no team in NBA history had come back from a 3-1 deficit to win the championship.

The CAVS can be symbolic of you!  Perhaps things have been tough for you for an extended period of time.  Perhaps much longer than you expected.  You may have sustained bruises to your ego and your self confidence may have suffered a bit. Life can be way more grueling than any sporting event can be.   It can be merciless at times.

The key to surviving it all is to "keep on keeping on."  Sustain the belief in yourself that you can overcome any obstacle given enough time. You just have to get through it all.  Along the way if you're doing the right things; keeping a good attitude, working hard at whatever you're doing, helping others as much as you can despite your own hardships and/or limitations, then life will surely take notice.  Life will introduce you to people who will help you if you allow them to.  Opportunities will present them to you if you are open to them...looking for them.  They may not be the opportunities or people that you were expecting.  That matters little.  What matters is your ability to persevere and your ability...your resolve...to see yourself through whatever it is life throws at you.

On any given day things can change for you.  A conversation.  A Help Wanted ad. An idea.  A chance encounter.  A friendship developed.  A relationship blossomed.  So many different things. Any given day holds the potential for the pendulum of good fortune to swing in your favor.  The best day of your life could be today. Or tomorrow.  Or the day after that.  That is one of the most beautiful things about life.

Until next time...

#YouMatterTremendously

#GoldenRuleLifeStrategy

Here's this week's video: It's awesome.  The Butterfly Effect.

Patience...The Often Overlooked Component Of Success

It Takes Time To Achieve Anything Worthwhile.

"Have patience.  All things are difficult before they become easy."...Saadi

We live in a world of instant gratification.  It's probably the end result of being absolutely spoiled by the technology that surrounds us. People tend to forget how different things were not too long ago. The younger crowd?  Forget about it!  They laugh out loud when you tell them that at one time you had to turn on the oven to reheat some leftovers instead of zapping it in the microwave for 30 seconds!  Ok, I'm probably dating myself with that example...but it's true.  I actually remember when the first microwaves came out. We were absolutely amazed.  But our lives operate a little bit different than some left over spaghetti.  It takes time to achieve anything worthwhile.  And that requires patience from us.  Patience is the often overlooked component of success.  

We're often unrealistic in the time frame it requires to reach our goals.  We see the people who have achieved what we want to achieve and we become mesmerized by the circumstances they are able to enjoy.  The cold hard reality is that the most successful amongst us had to persevere for a long time! The bigger the achievement, the longer the journey.  A successful doctor had to put in many, many years of schooling to earn his degree.  He had to pay his dues in residency and then build up his practice.  He grinded for a loooong time!  A professional or Olympic athlete usually began their chosen sport when they were just little kids.  Absolutely countless hours of practice and years of competition came before the final spectacular performance that leaves the world audience breathless and amazed.  The successful comedian or actor/actress has go through acting classes and many rehearsals and auditions to 

before they get discovered or recognized.

"Patience is a virtue" was a common phrase used by many in generations gone by.  I'm not sure if it's still said with regularity but if it's not then it should be!  The need for patience needs to be cultivated and practiced by anyone looking to enact major change in their lives, or people who want to accomplish their long term goals. Set goals.  Develop a plan to achieve your goals.  Work hard with determination and stay the course.  Modify along the way if need be. Persist.  Have patience.  You can achieve anything if you can discipline yourself to do what is necessary over the long haul.

Until next time...

#YouMatterTremendously

#GoldenRuleLifeStrategy
#LiveYourLifeWithPurpose