Persistence Wins
What is it that makes a person successful?
As I was re-reading the first chapter of Think & Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, I underlined a few things that always jump out at me.
The first paragraph…
“Truly, “thoughts are things,” and powerful things at that, when they are mixed with definiteness of purpose, persistence, and a burning desire for their translation into riches, or other material objects.”
I’m not sure how you could say that any better. Some might read this and be critical of someone that seems obsessed with something. But as I read it I think about all the great accomplishments that men and women have achieved throughout history. And without this burning desire to accomplish a goal, the world would be a much poorer place.
When I was a young person I heard all of the same sayings that most did. We were all encouraged to get an education, find a good job and stick with it to retirement. But nowhere in that situation are we encouraged to think and create something much bigger than ourselves. If you were to think different from that you would be throwing your reputation up against the norm, the average, mediocrity.
In my mind it feels like we need to rethink the way we teach our young people to think. For the last few years I have been trying to encourage my own children to read this book. To pay extra attention to finding a purpose and focusing every ounce of energy you have on that.
In the book Hill writes, “What a different story men would have to tell if only they would adopt a definite purpose, and stand by that purpose until it had time to become an all consuming obsession!”
In my own growth journey I have found this to be an enormous challenge. Not because I don’t believe in the concept, but because we are so trained to fall in line with work, home, community, etc… With a wife and family your goals must focus on providing for many others. But, the good news is that it is possible to do both.
As you think about trying to make a change in your life you are not required to do everything all at once. You can work on your purpose and then begin daily with small changes that will move you in the direction of those goals.
For me, I began my growth journey many years ago and I find that each year I get closer and closer to the objective. I was not able to drop everything all at once though to focus totally on this. I had to make daily changes that helped me to move in the new direction. And by doing those things each day, even something as simple as writing this article, I have seen tremendous change.
In my world I have come across a number of people who say that they want to write lots of books. My question to them is usually, have you written anything? Or, what are you writing now. More often than not, they have not even started. The idea is there, but it is not something they have focused their energy on, so it does not happen.
As I near the end of this short writing, I will share one of my favorite parts of this first chapter.
“Before success comes in any man’s life, he is sure to meet with much temporary defeat, and, perhaps, some failure. When defeat overtakes a man, the easiest and most logical thing to do is to quit. That is exactly what the majority of men do.”
I have seen this happen so many times in my own life and in the lives of others around me. The key, is not to quit when things get tough. Success is usually just around the corner after a tough break or temporary failure. We have to train ourselves to learn from those challenges but then keep moving forward.
Persistence is the only way through these times. And, persistence usually wins.
