Persistence

Persistence is a unique mental strength, a strength which is essential to combat a fierce power of repeated rejections and numerous other obstacles that sit in-waiting and are all part of winning in a fast moving and ever changing world of ours. It is the sustained effort necessary to induce faith and belief.

Will power and desire, when properly combined make an irresistible pair. Men who accumulates great fortunes are generally known as cold-blooded and sometimes ruthless. What they have is willpower, which they mix with persistence and place back of their desires to insure the attainment of their objectives.

Fame and fortune will never be the way of life until you pay the price for it by being persistent. Fame is not a common suitor, however, when you beat resistance with persistence you will get rewarded with fame and fortune.

One great example of persistence is Sir Edmund Hillary. In 1953 Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay got world recognition for being the first two people who climbed Mount Everest after having tried and failed  in the first two attempts. Sir Edmund Hillary showed his character strengths of vision and persistence. Without persistence all his skills would have been nothing and he would have reached nowhere. These qualities are something which all successful people have in common.

Persistence is an essential factor in the procedure of transmuting desires into reality. You can make a choice of either climbing the mountain or deciding to remain in the foot hills. You alone decide to quit or to continue when those inevitable mountain loom around you. The individuals who have chosen to stay in the foot hills have never chosen to develop their strengths however they always dream of being star and gun for fame and fortune. However, fame is not a common suitor, fame only comes calling after a high price is paid. The people who stay at the foot hills refuse to pay this price and hence continue to remain at the foothills.

Another great example of persistence is Ben Hogan. He hailed from a poor family and started as a caddy in the local golf club as a boy to earn extra money for his family. This lead to the birth of a dream of becoming a great golfer and he was obsessed with this dream. Every ounce of his body was saturated with persistence and he had put great deal of hard work, practice and persistence which lead him to fame and he became one of world's greatest golfer, he won the US Open Championship in 1948. But he had not yet faced his mountain. Next year he was involved in a head-on collision with a bus and he was not expected to survive his injuries, but he did, the doctors opinion was he will not be able to walk again and that was doctor's opinion but not Ben’s, he insisted that the golf club and exercise bar be put on the side of his hospital room, with this he began to visualize himself playing golf again, one year  later he won the US Open Championship, next year he won three major championship, in all he won fifty four championship after the tragic accident. Does persistence pay, what better example to understand then of Ben Hogan.

Another example of persistence is Miles Hilton-Barber. He went blind in his early twenties, but has not let that stop him from achieving his dreams. He has sought adventure and succeeded on expeditions to deserts, mountains and the polar-regions. As a popular after-dinner and corporate speaker, Miles weaves together rich anecdotes and humor with powerful life-lessons he has learnt whilst overcoming his blindness. He reminds his audiences that “attitude is what determines altitude” and that we too can live our dreams, because “the only limits in our lives are those we accept ourselves." He is living proof of the old adage "there's no such word as can't."

Persistence cannot be replaced by any other quality, superior skill will not make up for it, a well-rounded formal education cannot replace it, nor will calculated plan or a magnetic personality, when you are persistent you will become a leader of your industry and master in your craft. Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence, talent will not, nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent, and genius will not, unrewarded genius is most common, education will not, the world is full of educated unsuccessful people. Persistence and determination alone are inevitable for being successful.

The people who never tackled a mountain and who perpetually wandered at the foot hills most of their lives have lied to themselves and everyone else who had listened so often and for so long that they are no longer even aware of what they are doing. They say they are content with the result, they will say that climbing the mountain is not important to them. They are getting by just fine the way they are. Odds are they secretly started to climb the mountain years ago and got scared, they hit the terror barrier, quickly retreaded to their comfort zone and have been hiding behind their own false rationale ever since. They frequently justify their sick mediocre performance with statements like, why should I go all out when I get there the boss would just want more. Such people are lost or misguided. Do not permit such people to pull you down into their trap, rather let them serve as a triggering mechanism to mentally double your commitment to yourself to become more persistent.

Symptoms of lack of persistence: Lack of persistence is a symptom of problem. The following are some real enemies which stand between you and noteworthy achievement and leads of lack of persistence:

1.     Failure to define what one wants;

2.     Procrastination or postponement, with or without cause;

3.     Lack of interest in acquiring specialized knowledge

4.    Indecision, the habit of passing the buck on all occasions and blaming others rather than facingthe issues head-on;

5.     The habit of relying upon alibis instead of creating definite plans for the solution of problems;

6.     Self-Satisfaction, not comfortable to leave the safe harbor of the known;

7.     Indifference, readiness to compromise on all occasions rather than meet opposition and fight it;

8.     Wishing instead of willing and also willingness, even eagerness to quit at the first sight of defeat

9.     Searching for all the short-cuts to riches, trying to get without giving a fair equivalent effort;

10.   Fear of criticism, failure to create plans and to put them into actions because of what other people will think, do or say.

Many people believe that material success is the result of favorable “breaks”. There is an element of ground for the belief but those depending entirely upon luck are nearly always disappointed, because they overlook the above important factors which must be attended to before one can be sure of success.

How do you become persistent: Persistence is never developed by accident, you are not born with it, you cannot inherit this and there is no one in the entire world who can develop persistence for you. Persistence becomes a way of life, it need to be built over time, to develop the mental strength persistence you must first want something, you have to want something so much that it becomes a heated desire, a passion in your belly, you fall in love with the idea so much so that you magnetize yourself to every part of the idea and then persistence will naturally come to you. The very idea of not persisting will become hateful, and anyone who even attempt to stop you will be in serious problem. Mountains, difficulties, obstacles will appear regularly and set back will be there but if you are persistent they will be defeated and you will achieve your dream. Persistence is as interwoven with success as cow is with milk. There are four simple steps which helps in building persistence:

a) A definite want backed by a burning desire for its fulfillment;

b) A definite plan expressed in continuous action;

c) A mind closed tightly against all negative and discouraging influences, including negative suggestions of relatives, friends and acquaintances;

d) A friendly alliance with one or more persons who will encourage one to follow through with both plan and purpose.

The above four steps are essential for success in all walks of life. They are the steps that convert dreams into physical realities.

Persistent people never know why they want, they only know what they want, really want, they must have it, to have they must do it, to do they must be, they wanted so much that they keep imaging the same day in day out till it becomes a living breathing embodiment of whatever they want. When you want it enough, you are worthy of whatever you want, that is why you see ordinary people have always done extraordinary work.

The ordinary people did extraordinary things because they consciously recognize what they wanted and they refuse to suppress or dismiss it they would not let it go even if failure, rejection or death was staring at them in the face, it will have to be that way otherwise ordinary people will never do extraordinary things, they will never persist, the power of their want and it is the intensity of persistence which cause them to draw on the resources they had within them which they never knew. Remember, when the want is weak, you will quit at the first obstacle, a proper want is essential to persistence.

To sum it up, you must decide what you want, want you really want, way down deep inside or you remain in the foothills surrounded by losers. There are very few people who have admitted to themselves that this is what I want, this is what I really want and I am prepared to give my life for it. Ponder a little about the thought that you are already giving your life for what you are doing, what are you trading your life for, are you making a fair trade, what you are doing is your decision, or you are following, that is where most people live, let it go.

Take persistence as a wake-up call and lead yourself to the top of the mountain and in the process you build your strength, attitude and will-power to get out of the obstacles, difficulties on the way which take you all the way to the summit. Remember the view from the top is awesome.

Whatever you conceive or believe, through persistence you must achieve. Decide right now to become the one person who would make it happen. To be one of the group who would receive the lion share of the profits. Make persistence your most well-developed mental muscle.

“When the dream is big enough, the problems will get beaten, and the facts don't count. You beat the resistance with persistence and your reward will be fulfillment"

Life will then be what it meant to be !

Source : Think and Grow Rich by Napolean Hill

              Five Principle of Mind Games by Bob Procter

              Pictures from Robin Sharma