I think that the first time I truly grasped the concept of persistence was back in 2009. I had the opportunity to attend a full day workshop run by Bob Proctor. I learned a lot that day, but the one thing that stuck in my mind, to this day is the importance of persistence.
During that workshop, Bob Proctor gave all of the attendees a copy of the chapter on persistence from Napoleon Hill’s book Think and Grow Rich. He challenged us to find an accountability partner and read the chapter to each other for 30 days. He said it was something that he did once a year. My friend who attended the workshop with me agreed to accept the challenge and we took turns reading the chapter to each other every night for 30 days.
I think the purpose of the challenge was to emphasize the importance of persistence when in comes to making our goals a reality. The chapter shares real life examples of people who persisted in the pursuit of their goals despite the many challenges they encountered. In some examples it took years before they achieved their goals and there were many situations that would have cause most to give up. The common theme in all of these examples was that the people persisted and were able to make their dreams a reality.
I understand the idea of reading that chapter once a year. It serves as a reminder that regardless of the challenges we might be facing in our lives, they won’t last forever. It shows us what’s possible when we are committed to making our goals a reality no matter what kinds of difficulties we encounter along the way. Like Napoleon Hill says in the chapter, “verily, it pays to be persistent!”
I think that the key to persistence is patience and focus, which can be a challenge for most of us, myself included. We want what we want when we want it, and the goals that are important to us don’t tend to be realized when we want them to. We have to be patient with the process and ourselves in order to maintain the focus necessary to make our goals a reality.
When we want something bad enough and believe that we can make it happen (even if we don’t know how) then persistence is easy. I think that along with patience and persistence we have to have faith. We have to believe in ourselves and that what we want is possible. When we have that mindset, we open ourselves up to the opportunities that will help to get us closer to realizing our goals. That might mean being connected to the right people or being offered opportunities that you never even imagined.
I believe that persistence is a habit we have to develop to achieve success. The more we persist, the easier it becomes to do it the next time. When we persist and see that it pays off, we become more inclined to remain committed regardless of future challenges. When we realize the power of persistence, quitting no longer becomes an option. Are you mastering the art of persistence in the pursuit of your goals?