Keep Going!

Nothing is more important to success than perseverance. Many projects have been started with great enthusiasm and drive, but seem to fizzle at the first sign of opposition. The ones that make an impact on our world are the ones that have been pursued relentlessly. At this point I could tell you countless success stories of persons like Les Brown, Paul Rokich or Colonel Sanders who won out because of their persistence, but you can look them up on the internet yourself. The fact is that you will not find a single success out there without a story of perseverance backing up an idea and bringing it to fruition. The most important of these stories is the one YOU are about to start writing.

Your ability to believe in yourself and your idea to the extent that you refuse to give up on it is key, but before you can pursue your idea, you need to get your priorities sorted out. My Dad used to harp on about priorities, but I never really got it until I read Steven Covey’s book – The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. One of the habits he mentions is “doing first things first”. That gave me a different perspective on priorities; you cannot reach your goal if you do not take all the intermediate steps in getting there in the right order! Get the education, do the research, make the acquaintances, get the license, whatever the next step is in achieving your goal should be your immediate focus.

It also implies that the very first step is knowing where you are and where you want to go to. Without a starting point and a very specific and clear goal, you’re going to be wandering around in the forest of your life for a very long time. Your plan in achieving that goal, whatever it may be, is your route map. Now, you may think that following each step religiously as per the master plan is important, but it really isn’t. Unplanned events and deviations occur routinely. You should be able to adapt to these and so keep going in the general direction of your eventual goal. After all, if you are en route to the coast for a long awaited holiday and there are roadworks requiring a slight detour, you are not going to turn around and go home or sit there lamenting the lost opportunity, are you? You’ll take the detour and get back on route as soon as the situation allows!

Whatever it is you are aiming to achieve, get a clear picture of where you’re at, where you’re going and what it will take to get from here to there. Make the commitment to the full journey – to achieve your end goal you have to become whatever that goal requires. Put on that hat, BE the business man, the writer, the academic, the scientist that will DO what is necessary, and you will HAVE the result you desire. Whatever the obstacles or opposition, remind yourself every day of what you are and what you want to achieve, persevere! Failing to do so means that you will rob the world of your legacy – the wish in your heart is your destiny and what will leave the world richer for your living in it. It is never too late to succeed, because success is not the result, but active commitment to the process.