The Power of Persistence
After years of extensive study into the key determining success factors of self made millionaires, Brian Tracy concluded that amongst the most important were the twin characteristics of persistence and determination.He quotes, “Persistence is to the character of man as carbon is to steel. The quality of persistence is the absolutely indispensable quality that goes hand in hand with all great success in life. The courage to persist in the face of adversity and disappointment is the one quality that more than anything, will guarantee your success.”
As we all know, the one thing that is inevitable in our lives is the recurring crisis. If you are living a busy life, it is highly likely you will have a crisis of some kind every few months. In between these unavoidable crises will be a continuous succession of problems and difficulties. And the more things that you attempt, the bigger your goals, the more determined you are to become successful in your life the more problems and crises you will experience.
The good news however is that you can control is how you respond to those difficulties and setbacks, and your greatest personal asset can be your willingness to stay at it longer than anyone else.
Now although it is easy to grasp this intellectually, and rationally, it is another thing altogether to live this mantra or creed on an emotional level, when we are in the midst of crisis, or when we feel at our most vulnerable. This is where it can be useful to have an analogy to draw on - something which inspires and motivates us in times of difficulty.
Perhaps one of the best and most stirring analogies I have seen In this context comes from the 2006 movie, Rocky Balboa starring Sylvester Stallone. In one particular scene he is dispensing the above advice to his son, only in his own inimitable style of course! He says,
“Then the time came for you to be your own man and take on the world, and you did. But somewhere along the line, you changed. You stopped being you. You let people stick a finger in your face and tell you you’re no good. And when things got hard, you started looking for someone to blame.”
“Let me tell you something you already know; the world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s a very mean and nasty place, and I don’t care how tough you are, it will beat you to your knees and keep you there if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life.”
“But it ain’t about how hard you hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward - how much you can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done! You gotta be willing to take the hits and not point fingers, saying you ain’t where you wanna be because of him or her or anybody! Cowards do that, and that’s not you!”
Click on the video clip below to watch this scene from the film…
Kind Regards,
Guy Insull, Founder
Champions Club
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Tags: Brian Tracy, determination, Persistence, Success
