Persistence

Success is not the absence of failure, it’s the persistence through failure.
—Aisha Tyler

What does “Persistence” mean to you? One thought is that persistence refers to how long one is able and willing to stick to a task, even when it is challenging. Also, that lack of persistence is when someone is willing to drop a task and move on to something else when roadblocks are encountered.

We’ll simplify it and define it as “the quality of continuing steadily despite problems, challenges, or difficulties” and call them set-backs.

Are you impacted by set-backs or do they fire you up? When you experience them, what are you feeling and how do you adjust? We know not everything goes as planned, and that we may feel dejected when our efforts are derailed (for any reason), but it’s how we respond that matters.  The list below highlights just a few that “persisted” and succeeded:

Abraham Lincoln
Experienced 12 major failures before being elected the 16th U.S. President

Albert Einstein
His teachers said “he wouldn’t amount to much“.

Ludwig van Beethoven
Beethoven’s music teacher once said “as a composer, he is hopeless“.  

Steve Jobs
He felt he was a public failure when he was fired from Apple.

Walt Disney
Was fired from a newspaper for his lack of imagination.

The Beatles
In 1962 they were told they “had no future in show business” and that “groups with guitars are on the way out”. 

Dr. Seuss
His initial manuscript was rejected 28 times prior to being accepted by Random House/Vanguard Press.

Oprah Winfrey
After seven and a half months in her first job as a TV anchor she was fired and told she was “unfit for television news”.

Expect and plan for set-backs and persist! You will experience failures and face challenges, and when they occur, analyze what happened and why.  Be clear about your strategies and the direction needed to obtain the results you desire, and don’t shy away from continuing steadily despite encountering problems!