“I do not think that there is any other quality so essential to success of any kind as the quality of perseverance. It overcomes almost everything, even nature. “ – John D. Rockefeller
As Secret Entourage keeps expanding, more and more of our members want to share their success and mindset with our readers and more and more of our readers want to hear of others doing great things. This month’s guest post comes form Justin James about how perseverance can lead to success.
Okay I’ll admit it, I have a fascination with what makes people successful. I’ll even call it an obsession. I recently talked to a good friend of mine and we were conversing about goals, success, and mindset. When I complimented him on his positive mental attitude he responded “I have no choice but to be extremely successful.” At first I was thinking “Yes you do. You do have a choice to choose success or mediocrity.” I then got to thinking about what he said. It brought up some amazing struggles I have gone through that lead to success. They all had one main factor in common; they were all successful through perseverance.
It made me realize that successful people have made a choice to be blind to nothing but success. They make the choice and don’t look back EVER. To be a successful person you must decide what you wish for and prepare to sacrifice for it. You must determine the plan of attack and MAKE IT HAPPEN! When you feel the burning desire to achieve your goals and do what is necessary to live your dreams. The burning desire, the necessity to live your dreams is gratification, it’s SUCCESS!
Success is not something you realize financially, but by the challenges you have encountered and the courage with which you have persevered to overcome adversity.
We must constantly go after our dreams and what our heart is content with. We must have laser focus on our vision to pursue our goals. We must have the confidence to trust ourselves and to push to the extreme levels. Because how bad can it really get? We must have the courage to persevere to succeed.
“Success means having the courage, the determination, and the will to become the person you believe you were meant to be.” – George Sheenan
We must force ourselves to break through our comfort zone (mediocrity) and to persevere. Most people fear living more than death and that is a scary thought. The only way to get rid of fear is by action. Action towards your goals and dreams. You can conquer any fear if you just make up your mind to do so. Fear doesn’t exist anywhere but in the mind.
Find ways to give meaning and purpose, to be moved and inspired. Living a fulfilling life requires a tremendous effort and since we won’t be here for a long time, let’s make the best of it. Lets take a look at some of the most successful people that persevered.
Gene Hackman and Dustin Hoffman were both voted by their acting classmates as the “Least Likely to Succeed,” How many of those classmates have an Academy Award? Woody Allen failed in both the motion picture production classes he attended in college. Lucky for him his film audiences gave him better grades.
Harrison Ford was told by movie executives that he simply didn’t have what it takes to be a star. Of course he proved them wrong by starring in the Star Wars trilogy, the Indiana Jones series and a bunch of other movies that have grossed over $6 Billion!
Even some of the most successful singers such as Diana Ross and the Supremes were flops on their first nine records, but the tenth took them to the top of the charts. After only one performance, Elvis Presley was fired in 1954 by Jimmy Denny, manager of the Grand Ole Opry, who told him, “You ain’t going nowhere, son. You ought to go back to driving a truck.” One recording company executive told The Beatles, “We don’t like their sound, and guitar music is on the way out.”
But do you know about Soichiro Honda? Many of you have driven his cars, used his lawn mowers and ridden his motorcycles. Honda was turned down by Toyota Motor Corporation for a job as an engineer, so he started making scooters and finally started his own company. Honda Corporation’s motto is “We see the world not as it is, but as it could be. We see the world through the eyes of dreamers. Because we are a company founded by a dreamer. And we are a company built on dreams.”
What part of “no” didn’t these people understand? The part that said “no confidence.” They had every confidence that they could achieve and succeed and through perseverance they did just that! I hope this articles inspires you to persevere over the mountains of life and never let go of the things you want most.
A great read by Justin James, we hope you enjoyed his message as much as we did. There is much truth in the fact that fear is indeed only in the mind and that perseverance despite the odds is what made some of today’s biggest names who they are today.
