Perseverance

We are told all the time to “persevere” in the face of adversity.  That’s easier said than done.  At the end of the day we are tired, worn out, and just want to relax.

And yet there’s always more work to be done.  There’s no time to relax even though relaxation is something that is needed in human existence.  Being stressed and strung out all the time is not good for your health.

How do those successful people do it?  How do they work 16 hours a day and not ever seem to be tired or want to quit?

Well I bet if you asked them they’d tell you that they are tempted to quit all the time.  They are tempted to relax and play games or go party constantly.  But they don’t because their goals are truly important to them.  They’ve made a solid commitment to themselves that they will not compromise for anything.

Success is also addicting.  When you start having success and seeing how much you can truly do with your time and your life then you want to do even more.  Feeling like you have control of your destiny is empowering and invigorating like nothing else.

And having that power stripped away, even for a moment, is demoralizing.  When you have an idea of how things should be going or should turn out in life and then they don’t because of something beyond your control – how does that make you feel?

For many people it kills their motivation.  That’s why rejection is so powerful and stops many people on their path to success.  And that’s also where perseverance comes into the equation.

Learning to deal with rejection or failure, to learn from your mistake and move past it, is one of the most valuable skills in the world.  It’s a tough thing to do.  Even I want to give up and quit when the going gets tough.  We all do.

But you have to look past the tough times to the goal.  What will be the reward if you push through the pain?  What’s the future benefit of suffering a little now?

There’s an excellent quote I heard once which I absolutely love: “Entrepreneurs are people who are willing to live for a few years like most people won’t so that they can live the rest of their lives like most people can’t.”

That saying embodies everything about perseverance.  Most people think that their results will be instantaneous.  They think that they will create a blog, make 10 posts, go viral, and become famous successes.  And when this doesn’t happen they become frustrated, lose hope, and eventually quit trying.

They don’t know that if they had simply kept trying they would have indeed become a success.  Not overnight and likely not within 6 months even.  But eventually they would have become a success in their field and made a career out of whatever their dream is.

Look at anyone who is wealthy, famous, and successful.  Even those people who are “overnight successes” still put in a TON of work prior to being discovered.  In other words, through hard work and perseverance they were prepared for the opportunity for success.

How will you persevere today?

– Jared