Permission to Persist

It's been a week since I posted. I had another opportunity to listen in to a presentation by Mitchelle Tolle. I was struck, once again, with the simplicity and truth of what he had to say. I hope you too will benefit from his words.

As Mitchell introduced his talk today with the title, Permission to Persist, my first thought was, ‘why would we need permission to persist? Isn’t persistence a virtue, something we should go after, a mark of true character?’ Although it surely is a virtue, everything in our fast paced society goes against it. If option A doesn’t work right away; let’s jump to option B. As a person commits to one endeavor there’s a multitude of other opportunities whizzing past him. It is good to hear – you have permission to commit, to settle in, and then to persist in order to achieve success.

Mitchell explained that persistence is a quality that separates those that succeed from those who do not.

Calvin Coolidge said that nothing can take the place of persistence – not talent, not genius, nor education. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent (not above God but in the things that direct the activities of men.)

The most common barrier to persistence is fear. The single greatest obstacle to success, in the adult life, is the fear of failure. There is a fear that is legitimate. A child is equipped with some legitimate basic fears; the fear of fire and of falling. Most other fears are taught to them by adults. Fear carried to extreme is an incredible obstacle which can paralyze us.

The fear of failure is not unique to you. Everyone fears failure. We all are afraid of setbacks, making mistakes, loosing it all and falling into poverty. Fear can keep us from success, even when it is deserved and within the range of possibility. Failure is NOT the obstacle; it is the ‘fear of failure’ that stops you. If you allow failure to be your teacher it will make you resilient.

It is interesting to note that those that have nothing, those who are most desperate are often those that find success. Why?, because they have nothing to loose. If you have little to loose it is easier to push past fear and go about the process of finding success.

Thomas Watson, founder of IBM said “Double your rate of failure. That’s where you’ll find success.” Success lies just on the other side of failure.

To overcome your fears you need to identify the things that are shaking their fists at your success. Face your fear of failure. Once you’ve identified the fear, attack it head on, walk straight into it absolutely determined not to give up.

Walt Emerson said to make a habit of doing the things you fear most. If you do the things you fear; the death of fear will occur.

Strive to be acknowledged or identified as an individual of persistence. Nothing can take the place of your commitment to keep on keeping on.

Know in advance that you will experience trouble and adversity. Jesus said, in this world you will have trouble. Someone has said “One inevitability in life is reoccurring crisis.” You will have a hard time in this economy. The folks that ultimately become successful are those that know trouble is coming and they bear down and push on through. Persistence is one quality, more than any other thing, that will guarantee your success.

What you need in order to persist and find success is:
An unwavering belief (the evidence that you believe is that you are pesistent)
Desire – desire success more than ease and comfort
Vision – believe it is reality; picture it as though it has already happened.

If you don’t believe in your endeavor you can be sure it is being manifested in your day to day behavior. You cannot hide it. If you feel you are beginning to waver; you need support, put yourself in touch with fellow believers.

Trouble is common. Anyone that is going to succeed has to overcome obstacles. We are responsible for ourselves; failure is not an option. No matter what the world does we must push through fear and persist. God is not surprised when trouble comes. He knows what we are able to handle, he knows we are but dust. Before trouble came knocking at your door, it first crossed the desk of a sovereign God. Now, stay put until the trouble is over and learn what you need to learn; get every lesson this experience affords. Do not run away when things get tough. When the vision is clear and undeniable – you have an opportunity to overcome.

Become known as a person that persists; one who doesn’t give up. Every day is a challenge, look for new exciting ways to persist. Surround yourself with people that believe you will achieve; people who can persist and hang with you. In order to attract people of belief you have to be a person that believes. Like attracts like.

Storms are a part of life
You may be in the midst of your own personal storm - may we find you rowing.