Perseverance sustains your talent

By Dr John C Maxwell

Perseverance is not an issue of talent. It is not an issue of time. It is about finishing. Talent provides hope for accomplishment, but perseverance guarantees it.

Principles of Perseverance

No matter how talented people are, there is no success without perseverance. World War I flying ace Eddie Rickenbacker said, I can give you a six-word formula for success: Think things through then follow through. Many people like to think things through; few follow through.

If you desire to become a talent-plus person, you need to understand some things about perseverance:

1. Perseverance Means Succeeding Because You Are Determined to, Not Destined To

The difference between a successful person and others is not lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of determination. The greatest achievers don’t just sit back and wait for success because they think they deserve it. They keep moving forward and persevering because they are determined to achieve it.

2. Perseverance Recognizes Life Is Not a Long Race, but Many Short Ones in Succession

Have you heard the saying, Life is a marathon? Whoever first said it was almost certainly trying to encourage people to keep trying when things get tough and to have a patient yet tenacious approach to life. But I think whoever said it didn’t find quite get it right. Life isn’t one very long race. Its actually a long series of shorter races, one after another. Each task has its own challenges. Each day is its own event.

3. Perseverance Is Needed to Release Most of Life’s Rewards

How many highly successful people do you know who gave up? How many do you know who have been richly rewarded for quitting? I don’t know any, and I bet you don’t either. Its said that Walt Disney’s request for a loan was rejected by 301 banks before he finally got a yes. The loan he received allowed him to build Disneyland, the first and most famous theme park in history.

Inventor Thomas Edison asserted, Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up. Its the last step in the race that counts the most. That is where the winner is determined. That is where the rewards come. If you run every step of the race well except the last one and you stop before the finish line, then the end result will be the same as if you never ran a step.

4. Perseverance Draws Sweetness Out of Adversity

The trials and pressures of life and how we face them often define us. Confronted by adversity, many people give up while others rise up. How do those who succeed do it? They persevere. They find the benefit to them personally that comes from any trial. And they recognize that the best thing about adversity is coming out on the other side of it. There is a sweetness to overcoming your troubles and finding something good in the process, however small it may be.

I came across a poem by Howard Goodman called I Don’t Regret a Mile that expresses this idea well. It says, in part:

I’ve dreamed many a dream thats never come true,
I’ve seen them vanish at dawn,
But enough of my dreams have come true
To make me keep dreaming on

I’ve prayed many a prayer that seemed no answer would come,
Though I’d waited so patient and long;
But enough answers have come to my prayers
To make me keep praying on

I’ve sown many a seed thats fallen by the wayside,
For the birds to feed upon
But I’ve held enough golden sheaves in my hands
To make me keep sowing on

I’ve trusted many a friend thats failed me
And left me to weep alone
But enough of my friends have been true-blue
To make me keep trusting on

I’ve drained the cup of disappointment and pain,
And gone many a day without song
But I’ve sipped enough nectar from the roses of life
To make me want to live on

Giving up when adversity threatens can make a person bitter.

Persevering through adversity makes one better.

5. Perseverance Has a Compounding Effect on Life

Author Napoleon Hill says, Every successful person finds that great success lies just beyond the point when they’re convinced their idea is not going to work.


6. Perseverance Means Stopping Not Because You’re Tired but Because the Task Is Done

Former diplomat and recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom Robert Strauss commented, Success is a little like wrestling a gorilla. You don’t quit when you’re tired you quit when the gorilla is tired. If you think about it, perseverance doesn’t really come into play until you are tired. When you’re fresh, excited, and energetic, you approach a task with vigor. Work is fun. Only when you become tired do you need perseverance.

To successful people, fatigue and discouragement are not signs to quit. They perceive them as signals to draw on their reserves, rely on their character, and keep going. One problem of many people is that they underestimate what it will take to succeed. Enlightenment political philosopher Montesquieu declared, In most things success depends on knowing how long it takes to succeed. When we haven’t counted the cost of success, we approach challenges with mere interest; what is really required is total commitment. And that makes all the difference.

7. Perseverance Doesn’t Demand More Than We Have but All That We Have

Author Frank Tyger observed, In every triumph there is a lot of try. But perseverance means more than trying. It means more than working hard. Perseverance is an investment. It is a willingness to bind oneself emotionally, intellectually, physically, and spiritually to an idea or task until it has been completed. Perseverance demands a lot, but heres the good news: everything you give is an investment in yourself.

The Five Enemies of Perseverance

French scientist Louis Pasteur said, Let me tell you the secret that has led me to my goal. My strength lives solely in my tenacity. Perseverance begins with the right attitude, an attitude of tenacity. But the desire to persevere alone isn't enough to keep most people going when they are tired or discouraged. Perseverance is a trait that can be cultivated. And the initial step to developing it is to eliminate its five greatest enemies:

1. A Lifestyle of Giving Up
2. A Wrong Belief That Life Should Be Easy
3. A Wrong Belief That Success Is a Destination
4. A Lack of Resiliency
5. A Lack of Vision

TALENT + PERSEVERANCE = A TALENT-PLUS PERSON PUTTING THE TALENT-PLUS FORMULA INTO ACTION