Persistence is the Key to Success

What an amazing week this has been with a Masterclass for an excellent Vistage group in Manchester, a Masterclass for the national sales force of Xtratherm in Chesterfield and two Masterclasses for the staff at Derby College.

All four Masterclasses received really positive feedback, and this is one of the best weeks I can remember experiencing. It was busy, exciting, rewarding, and the comments I received from so many people really blessed me.

It is very humbling and beautiful

I am humbled to be doing what I am doing and even my book is making a difference to people in distant parts of the world. Things are getting better and better and I received confirmation yesterday that I have been booked for a conference in Stockholm Sweden in September which is really exciting.

One of the themes coming through my Masterclasses is never giving up and this is so true of virtually all people who have succeeded in life. All of them wanted to give up but they didn’t. I often wonder how many people we have never heard of who gave up just before their breakthrough.

KFC

I speak about Colonel Sanders who went to 1,009 restaurants before the first one agreed to try his recipe. I also talk about many others who should have given up but didn’t and they finally succeeded to change peoples lives and live wonderful lives.

5 years ago I was decorating and broke now I am being put up in beautiful hotels and I’m travelling the world inspiring and motivating people. This isn’t luck it’s hard work, not giving up and believing that the best is yet to come. We have to believe that we can make it before we do.

We can only go as far as we believe we can and a great example of someone who had great belief is Jack Canfield.

Jack Canfield

“Jack Canfield is the creator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul Series. He’s also one of the best motivational speakers, professional coach, and an incredibly inspiring author who published The Success Principles.

Jack and his co-author Mark Victor Hansen pitched the original Chicken Soup for the Soul to over 130 different publishers. But none of them were interested and said no one “wants to read 100 inspirational stories.”

After 100+ pitches, their agent dropped them as well, but they were determined to get the book published.

Luckily, they never gave up and continued to persevere until their book was picked up by a small publisher in Florida.

Now there are over 250 Chicken Soup for the Soul Books and over 500 MILLION copies sold worldwide. If they had given up these inspirational stories wouldn’t have been read across the world and they wouldn’t have made millions of dollars.

Perseverance Lesson

Never give up! Could you imagine if he quit on the 129th publisher? Where would his life be now? If you have a strong vision and clear goals never stop until you achieve them.

This is a tweet sent out by Jack which gives some very sound advice:

In a previous issue of success strategies, I talked about the importance of taking action toward your goals, dreams and desires. But one of the most important qualities you will need to develop in order to continue taking action is persistence.

You must be persistent in your disciplines and habits; perseverant in the face of adversity, hardship and challenge; and determined to achieve your dreams, no matter what.

You will want to quit

There will be many times when you will want to quit, give up, and go back to doing something else, but the one quality that will guarantee your success is the willingness to stick with it, to see it through to the end — to refuse to settle for anything less than your dream.

The longer you hang in there, the greater the chance that something will happen in your favor. No matter how hard it seems, the longer you persist, the more likely your success will be.

Adversity and Discouragement Is Inevitable

No matter how well you plan and how well you execute your plan, you are bound to meet with disappointments, adversity and failure along the way to your ultimate triumph.

Sometimes, you’ll encounter what seem like overwhelming odds. And sometimes, the Universe will test your commitment to the goal you’re pursuing.

The going may be hard and may require you to refuse to give up while you learn new lessons, develop new parts of yourself, and make difficult decisions.

And, adversity is what gives you the opportunity to develop your inner resources of character and courage. Adversity is a great teacher. It will test you and make you stronger. But you have to hang in there and not give up!

More than 4000 years ago in China, Confucius wrote: “Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.”

How to Deal with Obstacles

Whenever you confront an obstacle or run into a roadblock, you need to stop and brainstorm three ways to get around it, over it, or through it. For every obstacle, come up with three different strategies for handling the potential obstacle.

There are any number of ways that till work, but you will only find them if you spend time looking for them. Always be solution-oriented in your thinking. Persevere until you find a way that works.”

What great advice

Wow the challenges Jack faced along his journey were astonishing but he never gave up and the rest is history.

Thoughts for the week:

1. How do you deal with adversity?
2. Do you give up quickly or do you persist?
3. If you give up quickly you may live your life with regret
4. Use the advice in this blog to get back up and go again!
5. Don’t allow yourself the chance to live with regret.

Well that’s it for this week have a wonderful weekend and keep believing.

Warm regards

John

Off the Wall – How to Develop World Class Mental Resilience available HERE
http://www.jdmindcoach.co.uk/product/off-the-wall-how-to-develop-world-class-mental-resilience/ (Special offer. Put in code 10POUND when prompted to receive a signed copy for £10 including postage and packing – UK only)