I hope and trust this post finds you all having a great day!
I have been so blessed to have so many incredible, wonderful people placed in my life! The one thing that is a fact for ALL of us is that we have problems, struggles, challenges, issues, etc. They cover the spectrum from marriage to health to jobs to kids to dreams - pursued and not - to hopes to fears...The issue is not whether or not we will have problems, struggles, challenges, issues, etc. The issue is what they will be and, most importantly, what we are going to do with them.
This morning I was reading "Failing Forward" by John C. Maxwell. Please do yourself a favor and get this book...it is truly incredible and life changing if you allow it to be! In any event, the chapter this morning was on perseverance. I thought for this "Happy Friday" I would just get out of the way and share the excerpts from this chapter that I underlined when I read it and let it speak to you however it will.
- "There is no failure except no longer trying. There is no defeat except from within, no really insurmountable barrier save our own inherent weakness of purpose." Ken Hubbard
- There's not much difference between failure and success, and the little difference makes a big difference. [Perseverance]
- Nothing worth achieving comes easily. The only way to fail forward and achieve your dreams is to cultivate tenacity and persistence.
- A four-point plan for approaching achievement that will encourage stamina and resilience in the face of failures.
- Purpose: Find One - More than anything else, having a sense of purpose keeps a person going in the midst of adversity. As Abraham Lincoln said, "Always bear in mind that your resolution to succeed is more important than any other thing."
- Excuses: Eliminate Them - George Washington Carver noted, "Ninety-nine percent of failures come from people who have the habit of making excuses." No matter how many opportunities you've missed or mistakes you've made, don't ever make excuses. Bite the bullet, take complete responsibility for yourself, and keep trying.
- Incentives: Develop Some - Walter Elliot said, "Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races, one after another." As you develop incentives for yourself, keep these things in mind:
- Reward yourself only after you reach the goal.
- Divide the process into stages to multiply the rewards.
- Include others - that increases accountability and makes achievement more enjoyable.
- Determination: Cultivate It - Author Napoleon Hill noted, "Effort only fully releases its reward after a person refuses to quit." To develop persistence over the long haul, you have to cultivate inward determination on a continual basis. And if you do, someday your story may be similar to one of these:
- Admiral Peary attempted to reach the North Pole seven times before he made it on try number eight.
- Oscar Hammerstein had five flop shows that lasted less than a combined total of six weeks before Oklahoma, which ran for 269 weeks and grossed $7 million.
- John Creasey received 743 rejection slips from publishers before one word was ever published - he eventually published 560 books, which have sold more than 60 million copies.
- Eddy Arcaro lost 250 consecutive races before he won his first.
- Albert Einstein, Edgar Allan Poe, and John Shelley were all expelled from school for being mentally slow.
- "I've followed the classic homespun principles. Never say die. Never be satisfied. Be stubborn. Be persistent. Integrity is a must. Anything worth having is worth striving for with all your might. Does it sound corny? Honestly, that's all there is to it. There is no magic formula." - Orville Redenbacher
- If you are willing to be doggedly persistent, you can be a success.
Please let me know if there is ever anything I can do for you. I would be honored to help you any way I can.
Have a great day, a wonderful weekend and please, cherish, value and adore your precious families.
Kev
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