This post starts with a quote from Calvin Coolidge. He certainly believed that persistence leads to success. Here is his quote:
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. The slogan Press On! has solved and will always solve the problems of the human race.
Persistence Guarantees That Results Are Inevitable
(Quote from Paramahanse Yoganda)
Persistence is defined as firm or obstinate continuance in a course of action in spite of difficulty or opposition (Merriam-Webster)
Persistence is ongoing. The persistent person does not quit. With such an attitude, eventually something will change. Hold in your mind what you want and expect to get it. This is called focus. Believe you can achieve it; do not let circumstances pull you back. Put out good energy and you will draw more of the same to you.
Ambition Is The Path to Success. Persistence Is The Vehicle You Arrive In.
One of the most important steps toward developing persistence is to know what you want. If your motive is strong enough, you can surmount many difficulties.
Make a plan to move you in the direction of your goal. Believe in your ability to carry out what you have visualized. This belief will make it easier to follow your plan to completion.
State the results you want. Based on your experience and observation, map out the steps to reaching your goal. Knowing your plan is sound will encourage persistence. Build a habit of concentrating your thoughts upon your plan. This focus on a definite purpose leads to persistence.
Make sure you include ways to help others, giving support to fellow travelers on the road to success. Offer sympathy, understanding, and harmonious cooperation. These will tend to help you build persistence.
A River Cuts Through Rock Not By Power But By Persistence
Be like the river — never stop moving in the direction of your goal.
To continue indefinitely with persistence, you develop it into a habit. You must have a definite purpose backed by a burning desire for its fulfillment.
Write down your plan. Make sure your plan is written in a way that allows you to move on it immediately. It becomes a definite path through resistance that you can express in continuous action.
Close your mind totally against all negative and discouraging influences. Do not let negative suggestions from your relatives, friends, and acquaintances sway you from your path. Be like the river, flowing, continuous, until you cut through the rock of disbelief and look on success.
If you can, form a mastermind group with a handful of like-minded people. With them, you can find ways to help get past any roadblocks you may encounter.
It Does Not Matter How Slowly You Go As Long As You Do Not Stop
Move slowly if you must. Just remember that the more times you move toward you goal, the sooner you will get there. Always look and move toward what you want. Look for everything in your life to move you in the direction of your goal.
You can check your progress by looking at where you are in the present moment. What you are living now is what you have been thinking about. Choose your thoughts and also choose your actions.
My cat can give you an excellent example of how persistence works. In the morning, he gets up and does his morning routine — uses the litter box; drinks some water; checks out what is happening outside the window. Then he is ready for breakfast.
In order to get breakfast, he first has to get me out of bed. Sometimes he faces a daunting task. However, he chooses actions that he thinks will lead to success. If he tries something and it doesn’t work, he tries something else.
Eventually he is successful. After all, he only has to harass me until he gets me out of bed. Once I am up and moving around, he is much closer to his goal. Now, his technique changes to a constant meowing to remind me that he needs to eat! He always reaches that goal. I always feed him. His persistence brings success.
As long as you move forward, your speed does not matter. On the journey, you will have small successes as you progress. These will help inspire you to continue. Positive victories do a great deal to move you in the right direction. When the cat got me up, he knew the larger victory of a meal was on its way.
Though you move slowly, make sure each step is in a positive direction. This positive progress will help a great deal to bring your success.
Persistence Can Grind An Iron Beam Down To A Needle
Don’t get caught in the negative trap of thinking that what you want is impossible. If you believe in yourself, you can find a way. Perhaps your goal involves reducing a mountain of obstacles into a small hill of success. Keep that grinder humming! Every small bit you grind off your mountain of obstacles is one less thing stopping you from succeeding.
I sometimes feel the newspapers are very bad for us because they are always full of bad news and negativity. I think songwriter John Prine made a good suggestion when he said we should blow up the TV and throw away the newspapers. Perhaps we would be less apt to get caught in the negativity trap if we do so.
The habit of helping others to help themselves should be automatic. The more we give, the more we make room to receive. By law, you will get back many times what you put out.
If you develop the habit of laughing at petty misfortunes, you will find this habit will help you avoid the pit of negativity. Keep your mind focused on higher concerns, not on the small things that try to trip you up.
Persistence Can Change Failure into Extraordinary Achievement
Persistence makes all the difference between success and failure. If you keep at it, every obstacle must give way.
See adversity as a valuable lesson. Life offers hazards; they test our will. That is how we grow. When you see yourself as your own master and carry your vision into action, you use the supreme secret to success.
Think of the Golden Rule this way: Help others as you would wish them to help you, if your positions were reversed. Develop ways to get what you want without hurting others.
Faith is the attitude that will help keep you on the success trail. Faith is the ability to see the invisible, believe in the incredible, and receive the impossible. Thus we set up an attitude for success.
I found this quote written in one of my notebooks. I don’t know who wrote it. However, it is worth repeating:
- Live our lives as if today were the last day
- Plan our lives as if they would last forever
Never give up! If you truly want something, persist until you get it. The habit of persistence is insurance against failure.