Perseverance

This artist was considered a failure. He only sold one painting in his entire lifetime. But he persevered, creating over 900 paintings and thousands of other works. Recently, one of his “worthless” paintings sold for $111 million at Christies. The artist was Vincent Van Gogh.

His dream was to sing at the Grand Ole Opry. But he was fired after just one show. Opry’s manager, Jimmy Denny, told the young man, “You ain’t goin’ nowhere, son. Go back to drivin’ a truck.” But he persevered. To the tune of selling a billion records. That truck driver was Elvis. 

When this author sent out her manuscript in 1995, it was rejected by 12 publishers. Even the small firm that eventually bought it warned her to “get a day job.” But she persevered. Today, her brand is worth $15 billion. Like her protégée, Harry Potter, J. K. Rowling never gave up.

Innovators Who Know the Value of Perseverance Change the World

I could go on — Henry Ford, Steve Jobs, Walt Disney, Steven Spielberg, Albert Einstein ... The world has been changed forever by innovators who knew the value of perseverance. But for each winner, there are untold losers who quit too soon. Like Thomas Edison said, “Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” 

From Discipline to Perseverance

One of the gifts that comes with age is understanding and appreciating the value of perseverance. When I was young, I focused much of my energy on finding ways to sidestep hard work and fast-track it to the top of the financial pyramid. Sound familiar? My immaturity coupled with the materialistic environment at my school led me to believe “working hard at a worthy goal was for schmucks.” My peers and I thought finding the silver bullet of overnight success was the Holy Grail.  

Maturity has taught me just the opposite.  

I was meeting recently with a valued client. Whenever we spend time together, I inevitably learn something valuable, like during our discussion on “discipline” and how important it is. We both noted that in today’s culture, the word discipline gets a bum rap. Most people associate discipline as a negative instead of a positive. Not me! I admire disciplined people, and aspire to grow more like them. Sometimes when I describe my morning ritual, people remark that I’m disciplined. I tend to reel back when I hear it, thinking, “If they only knew me when …”

I’ve found that replacing the word “discipline” with “perseverance” is a lot more appealing and appropriate. Years ago, while rereading Stephen Covey’s great work, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, I picked up on his concept of living a “principle-centered life.” I adopted several of the principles Covey referenced while creating a few of my own to navigate my Legacy Map. One of the terms I most identified with was “persistence.” I realized that I had always been persistent, and that the principle had served me well.  

Later, when talking it through with my wife, I changed the word “persistence” to “perseverance.” I realized that perseverance was closer to the principle I identified with. While I was dialoguing with my astute client, the connection between perseverance and discipline clicked. At that moment, I realized the word perseverance had discipline baked into its definition, and conveyed the powerful attractive force that I had been seeking as a faithful navigation aid.

Principles are Aspirational, Core Values are Usually Passed Down

Perseverance has been an anchor in my life. I credit my parents — specifically my father — for passing on this core value. To clarify, a principle is something you either possess or aspire to. A core value can also be a principle with the distinction that a core value is not an aspiration or a work in progress. It is in fact, “core” to your being. Therefore, they’re most often passed down from parents or occur due to significant life changes. In my upbringing, the core value of perseverance was modeled by my successful father. When I adopted this behavior, it became a core value that I’ve used to navigate life with and model for my own children.  

Whether it’s a core value you’ve already learned from your parents/mentors or a principle you aspire to possess, the inescapable value of perseverance can make an exponential difference in the quality of life. 

Perseverance is Running Many Short Races One After the Other

As I said, when I was young, I wanted to run flat out toward financial success. Like a 100-yard dash for the cash. Now I realize that acquiring the worthwhile things in life is more like a marathon than a sprint. The perspective of age has taught me that even a heroic 26-mile event can only be completed one step at a time. 

So don’t beat yourself up trying to reach your goals overnight. And don’t despair if you make a mistake. Any runner will tell you that falling down is part of the process. Just get up, learn what you can and press on. It’s been said that perseverance is not one long race; it is many short races one after the other. 

On your mark, get set, persevere!