Imagine for a second what life would be like if this was the perspective that you had in all things that mattered?
One of my favorite books to read in the world, and I read a little from it every day (and have for many years), is called the Greatest Salesman in the World, by Og Mandino.This little book is unfortunately titled in my opinion because it’s really about life, not sales. As a result, many people don’t read it because they might not think it pertains to them. I believe everyone should have a copy of this book…it is just too good to miss. One of the chapters in the book starts with this statement: “I will persist until I succeed.”
Unfortunately for many people they never really grasp this approach. I know it took me many years of mediocrity and lack of fulfillment to really understand that I simply had not persisted long enough at any one thing to get where I was trying to go. I listened too much to the world. I took to heart statements like “Oh, you’ll never be a …” and “You are wasting your time trying to…” Instead of challenging other’s limiting beliefs about what is possible, I accepted them and became my own limitation.
All I have to do is look around to know that I’m not the only one to deal with this issue, if we are honest we can all look into our pasts and think of multiple times when we gave up on something we really wanted because we bought into someone else’s idea that we could not achieve it.
I know I also struggled for many years with instant gratification and the pain of the learning curve. I did not stick with things long enough to begin seeing the fruit because I just didn’t understand that I would get there eventually if I just stayed with it. I never knew that there would have to be times when I would struggle and that is simply inherent in any worthwhile endeavor. Instead I quit before I succeeded in everything for many years. As soon as it got hard, I checked out. I took it as a sign that it just wasn’t going to happen…instead of what it really was…the time I needed to grow through. I always had something to blame it on of course…and trust me when I say, of all the things to blame it on, I wasn’t usually on the list!
Instead of challenging other’s limiting beliefs about what is possible, I accepted them and became my own limitation.
I took me until I was in my mid-30s to start to understand that if you were willing to take the steps and experience the personal growth, and stay with something, you could truly do anything eventually (within your physical boundaries). It is totally a choice to persist and succeed.
I know I am not the swiftest, or the smartest. As a matter of fact I tend to be a slow starter. But if I am honest and kind, and work at anything a little at a time then over time anything can happen.
As Og Mandino says “I will be liken to the rain drop which washes away the mountain; the ant who devours a tiger; the star which brightens the earth; the slave who builds a pyramid. I will build my castle one brick at a time for I know that small attempts, repeated, will complete any undertaking.”
What would you like to do that you could be doing? Don’t wait…Do it. Life is too short to settle.Just be patient with yourself in the process. Think of the things that you treasure in your life. Did any of those things come easy? Did they just happen? Probably not. The things you treasure most…your most important relationships,your greatest achievements, even your most valuable material possessions…all took a significant investment of yourself.
This is the essence of persistence. This one word is involved in anything you now have of value and anything you will have in the future. So decide what you will accomplish, understand the price, and then simply persist. There is great fruit in your future if you will only work at it until the harvest.
