Five Points on Persistence (Mine)

Posted: March 5th, 2010 | Author: A.J. | Filed under: Career, Inspiration | Tags: Persistence | No Comments »

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“Nothing in the 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 always will solve the problems of the human race.” -Calvin Coolidge

Five Points on Persistence:

1.  Action

• Persistence requires action.  You don’t think about being persistent, you ARE persistent.  So you go knocking on doors.  You make the phone calls and emails.  You cultivate a network.  DO something.

2.  Create wins

• We all get down when set backs occur.  What helps is to re-frame your goal from all or nothing and into parts.  Imagine it broken down into pieces of a puzzle.  Each piece you gather and lock into place is a small victory.  A victory could be getting a five minute phone call with a potential mentor, or it can come by way of a “defeat”, like not getting THE job.  But say you made it to the second or final round.  And that had never happened before.  That’s a win.

3.  Be realistic

• Don’t be lofty.  OK, be lofty, but reasonable.  Being realistic can prevent you from burning out, or becoming disheartened when things are not going the way you imagined they would.  While one should “go big” in achieving their goal, it is easy to get caught up in the emotion of the idea of the goal.  For example, I can be as persistent as I want, but I will most likely not NEVER ever, play in the NBA and NFL.  Just out of the realm of possibility.  Conversely, completing a triathlon would not be.  However, I’m not going to be able to complete one tomorrow.

4.  Have enablers

• There’s the saying that you are the company you keep.  The collective traits of your friends and associates can rub off on you for good or bad.  In the context of persistence, having peers with this trait can be helpful for days when you aren’t feeling as motivated or just plain down about the whole process in achieving your goal.

5.  Follow-through

• Persistence means taking 1,000 steps if necessary, not just one or two.

Hope these help!

//A.J.

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