Persistence

 

We have all heard the stories about the people that quit just a foot from the mother lode, or didn’t look in their own backyard for those acres of diamonds. Dang, sometimes you are up against it so hard you just can’t take anymore, then you quit. I can tell you dozens of stories on that theme and then there is the opposite end of the spectrum.

I was talking to a friend the other day and we were talking about what would have happened if Edison hadn’t of invented the light bulb? Naturally we think of being in the dark, or not have television, or computers, or x-ray machines and list goes on and on. There are always the people who say that someone would have invented it. Yes, maybe, but they didn’t.

There is a famous story about the young reporter who asked Edison, “Mr. Edison how does it feel to have failed at inventing the light bulb a reported 9,999 times?” Edison replied nonchalantly, “ Young man, I didn’t fail 9,999 times, I found 9,999 times it didn’t work and from there I found the one way it did.”

But as my pastor loved to ask; “What is the better question” and that is ‘Why was Edison so motivated to invent a light bulb?” The answer is – drum roll please…… He had harnessed electricity and he needed to find a way to entice people to connect to the grid he was going to build and make tons of money with it! At that time there was nothing else that ran on electricity.

Persistence!

When your why is big enough you will find your how!

No truer words were spoken. We have talked about your WHY, why are you doing things? Why is important for you to achieve your goals? Have you written your goals down? If, no, do so. If yes it is important to review them. As Brian Tracy said; “It is through having goals that you will get everything you want – faster than you ever thought possible.”

Successful people are goal oriented period. The bible stated it clearly and this was echoed by some of the finest minds in history; “You become what you think about – most of the time.” Taking this further, by reviewing your goals, reading them every day you start becoming them. 

But is this enough? No? You can set all the goals in the world but if there is no compelling reason for you to achieve them, guess what, chances are you will quit before getting there.

Why Do People Fail to Follow Through?

92% of the 17 million people that try to quit smoking each year fail.

95% of people who lose weight fail to keep it off long term.

88% of people who set New Year’s resolutions fail at their attempt.

Only 10% of the population has specific, well-defined goals, but even then,

Seven out of the ten of those people reach their goals only 50% of the time.

As Tony Robbins writes, “You need leverage.” If you really want to achieve a specific goal a simple technique to write a paragraph on the pleasure you will gain by achieving said goal. Then, write a paragraph on the pain you will endure if you do not succeed. Tony says that people will work harder to avoid the pain than they will to gain pleasure. With that in mind weekly review the pain/pleasure paragraphs as a motivation piece for your success.

Jim Rohn one of the world’s most influential motivational speakers has a huge tip to propel you to success. He wrote that one of the most important benefits of setting goals isn’t in the achieving of them but what you do and what type of person you become on your road to having a successful outcome with your goals. He believes that having accountability is essential to achieving your goals. In other words, helping you stay on course and developing persistence. You may be willing to quit on yourself but having to be accountable to another person will make you think twice about quitting. In fact you probably will feel that it is loathsome to quit.

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