Embrace Persistence

Finally, the young sales executive walked into the CEO’s chamber to pitch his product. As he walked into the room, the CEO remarked, shaking hands,

“Come on in. Good to meet you.

Congratulations.

Since morning, my assistant tells me that five other sales executives tried reaching out to me. She rejected all of them, but in your case, she convinced me to meet you. You are the first person that I have agreed to meet today.”

The young sales executive still holding on to the CEO’s hand responded gracefully,

“I have a confession to make, sir. It was not five people who tried to reach you today. It was I who tried reaching you in five different ways. Every time your assistant said no, I tried a different approach so that she would be convinced to let me meet you. I am glad on the sixth attempt, I succeeded.”

Persistence Is The Spirit Of Not Giving Up.

Not backing down despite rejection and failure and pushing your way is Persistence.

No one can achieve anything of significant value without Persistence.

Many of us seek instant results, and in the face of failure and rejection, we give up without even knowing how near we may be to the result we are seeking. We may give up just when the destination is just a step away.

I have a marathoner for a friend who told me something powerful when I asked him about how he manages to run half a dozen full marathons every year.

“Persistence is about pushing yourself. When the body refuses, the mind says one more step. When the mind says No More, the heart says one more step. And, when the heart is also ready to give up, your inner spirit wakes up and wills you to take that one more step.”

Persistence is that inner spirit that does not let you give up, no matter what.

Keep Moving Forward

We all desire to achieve something meaningful in our lives when it pertains to academics, career, life goals, etc. Anything significant will never come easy. Therefore, in all these pursuits, we will always encounter challenges, problems, and failures. 

When we encounter failures and defeats, getting up and pushing through without feeling defeated is Persistence. It is the ability to derive strength from each stumble and failure and move forward in faith, knowing that we will eventually see the results.

Embrace the spirit of Persistence.

Don’t give up on your aspirations and ambitions, no matter how improbable or impossible they may appear to you today. 

A journey of thousand miles always begins with a single step. But there will always be stumbles and accidents on the way. The journey can only be completed when you lift yourself from every fall, every stumble and take that next step forward in faith, knowing that you will eventually reach the destination you seek.

No one said it better than Martin Luther King, Jr.

If you can’t fly, then run. If you can’t run, then walk. If you can’t walk, then crawl, but whatever you do, you have to keep moving forward.