Napoleon Hill (1883 – 1970) was an American author whom is thought of as the father of the modern literature genre of personal-success, and is widely considered to be one of “the greats” in the genre. He has inspired many famous success literature gurus such as Darren Hardy, Brian Tracy, and Zig Zigglar. In 1937, Hill wrote “Think and Grow Rich,” which has sold over 20 million copies to date and depicts the key attribute of success as “Persistence.” To quote Hill’s book, “Persistence is the character to man, as carbon is to steel.”
When we hit an obstacle or major setback during the pursuit of a goal, it can be an incredible emotional letdown. During this period we feel discouraged and/or self pity. We will likely ask, “Why me?” Don’t be surprised when setbacks happen, they can and will happen to everyone multiple times. Instead, expect disappointments and setbacks will occur as part of the road to success. We all need to remember it’s not how far we fall, but how far we bounce back. Resilience is an acquired trait, so we should aim to bounce back, each time more quickly that the last. Resiliency in times of challenges is the key to long term success. The primary difference between “winners” and “losers” in life is simple: winners never quit, and quitters never win.
Persistence is true self-discipline in action. I was recently told of a sales rep who lost a new product account and was extremely disappointed. After discussing this disappointment with his manager, the two decided to schedule a field visit, and the day wouldn’t be until he attained at least one new evaluation. By 4:45 PM they had made some progress, but nothing solid was established. They had a choice: to call it a day and pick up where they left off tomorrow, or to make one more call; they chose the latter. They found an account on the outskirts of town that purchases a nominal $300 of disposables each year and decided to make it their last sales call of the day. When entering the account, they ran into a preoperative manager and a general surgeon. Long story short, they converted all the account’s disposables and gained a commitment for a new evaluation!
Setbacks are merely road bumps on the road to success. When we face setbacks and challenges, optimism enables us to find the will to persist and refuse the all to easy course of blaming others or making excuses. When we make excuses and blame others it only makes us feel weaker, reducing our ability to be effective in a challenging situation. Take responsibility when setbacks show up in your day to day—no matter what. Look for the actions leading to the unfavorable outcome; how can you do it differently next time? Resolve to focus on the now and the future with a solution, rather than the past and who is at fault. The difference between those who fail and the successful is also simple; those who fail feel sorry for themselves, whereas the successful look for the good and lesson to help them in the future. As Hill wrote in, “Within every problem or obstacle lays the seed of an equal or greater opportunity or benefit. Your job is to find it!”
Finally and most importantly, we all need work on committing to ourselves in advance that we will never give up. I know this is something that has played a hand in others successes, and I can tell you with confidence that if you commit to yourself that your long term success is almost guaranteed. Remember, nothing can stop you, but yourself! Every time your self-discipline pushes you to persist, you increase your self confidence; you will not only feel stronger and more powerful, but most importantly you will be unstoppable!
I have been watching some of the TED Talks on Netflix. I have found many of the speakers inspiring and have admired their vitality, focus and purpose. One speaker a man from Mexico (I believe the son of the present or a former president of Mexico) spoke about Mexico’s present situation and the mentality of “victimization” that he said pervades the people of Mexico. This, he says goes right back to when the Spanish conquered their lands right up to today’s problems with drug cartels. This sense of victimization has bred apathy among many, along with fear, and even reactive violence. This man goes on to tell about about a man who mobilized his village in order to secure the release of his brother who had been kidnapped and held for ransom. Through non-violent and persistent protest they secured his release. I believe what this man said has something to do with what you are saying about persistence. Fault finding, self-pity, apathy, and giving up can be symptoms of a persons who is feeling they are a victim. But as you have pointed out this is not the road to success…whatever you define as success.
Persistence in my life has been inspired by seeing those who have through years of loving endurance pressed on. I think of the couple who went to Africa as traditional church planting missionaries who along the way saw the children who had become orphans of AIDS. The ministry we now know through the music of the African Children’s Choir was born. I heard the story at Mission’s fest from a founder and watched the slide presentation of their still-growing ministry to children. Today from just a small beginning there have been whole communities built, featuring homes, schools, and medical clinics. Each home has a home-parent. It has taken years. The same example of long-term persistence can be seen in the life story of Bruce Olson, the main character in the book “Bruchko”, A young man who at the age of 19 went to South America. Hudson Taylor and many more are examples of those who through persistence pushed on despite great opposition and failures along the way.
This brings me back to an earlier discussion on “success”. As a Christian, my definition of success might be very different from a non-Christian. I have come to realize that those things which are highly esteemed by man are often despised by God.
This quality of perseverance is very important, but in life we must have worthy goals to persevere towards. Our motives as Christians should be for “things above”, …to give Glory to God, to promote the Good News of Jesus Christ,to love our neighbour. Jesus is the prime example of one who endured the road to the cross, seeing the result that was to be attained. It is a sad thing to persist towards a goal and find out when you attain the reward of your persistence that the goal was unworthy of your time and life.
Sean, thanks for starting the discussion. A worth topic!
Hi William, thanks for your insightful comments! I always appreciate getting feedback and creating forums of discussions. I hope you visit my blog again as I post weekly. Best, Sean