© 2010 Dream Merchant • 2309 Torrance Blvd. #104, Torrance, CA 90501 (310) 328-1925 email: Jkm316@aol.com PERSONAL SUCCESS AND THE IMPORTANCE OF PERSEVERANCE
By Willie Horton
Perhaps this is an unusual introduction to an article on self-improvement and success, but I would like to start by quoting 50 Cent. Yeah, I'm talking about the rapper, 50 Cent.
"Most people can't handle boredom," he said. "That means they can't stay on one thing until they get good at it. And they wonder why they're unhappy."
Unfortunately, we have a big problem with patience and perseverance because we live in a world where we expect instant results. If we're hungry, we want fast food. If we're feeling down, we want instant gratification. Hence the proliferation of anti-social behavior, drug abuse, etc. And television is teaching us that anyone can be an overnight success. Whether it's American Idol, Britain's Got Talent or the X-Factor, we've got a whole new breed of people who think that you don't have to work, persevere at or stick with something to become a success. Little wonder that Usher recently said that such shows are slowly killing the music industry.
But enough! This article isn't about the music industry, TV or indeed sex, drugs and rock and roll. This article is about success and how to achieve it.
The first thing we need to deal with is the concept of "hard work." Hard work is only a state of mind (normal people think that their work is hard, so it ends up being hard--they prove themselves correct). There is a world of difference between hard work and a labor of love--doing something, not necessarily because you enjoy it, but because it is an important piece of a jigsaw, a means to an end.
As Muhammad Ali, who hated running on the road, said, "I run on a Wednesday, so I can dance on a Saturday." However, if you're like most people--easily bored or quickly disillusioned--then almost anything that you try will become hard work. And once anything becomes hard work, it's the easiest thing in the world to lose interest and turn to something else that will give you the instant kick that you're looking for or have come to expect out of modern life.
To succeed, you have to be single-minded and ruthless. You have to be ruthless with yourself, with working on and maintaining your focus and state of mind. You have to be ruthless in terms of sticking to your objective.
A good friend of mine, a visiting lecturer at the University of Madrid Business School's MBA Program, recently told me about the data collected in that program. It strongly suggests that highly-successful business people are those who have failed many times, but who have tried again and again and again. This data also suggests that only one in ten thousand people will, having failed three or four times, try again.
Even in the course of our everyday ordinary lives, we fall on our face again and again. We may be trying to commit to a level of personal mental disciple that will give us the kind of clarity of mind that will enable us to create the success we want. However, always lurking in the shadows is our default stare of "I'm bored." That mindset kicks in and we somehow believe that our best efforts are going to end up coming to nothing.
But our best efforts will always come to nothing if we don't pick ourselves up and start over.
Therein lies the secret of success.
I started by quoting 50 Cent. Let's finish by quoting Calvin Coolidge, the 30th President of the United States.
"Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence," he said. "Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan 'press on' has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race."
This perseverance must permeate your life--in particular, in your ongoing efforts to develop the clear mindset that creates the foundation for success. But then, what if you fail or feel that your failing?
Well, failure is just another opportunity to persevere.
Willie Horton has been a Personal Development expert since 1996, working with top leaders in major organizations. An Irish ex-accountant, ex-banker, published author and keynote speaker, he travels the world from his home in the French Alps, enabling people to "live the dream." All his work--including his acclaimed Personal Development Workshop--is now online at: http://www.gurdy.net
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