Persevere (Pt 7)

Persevere

Part 7 in a Seven-Part Series

Seven Characteristics of Unstoppable People

Based on the book Unstoppable by Cynthia Kersey

Are you up to learning a new word? 

The word is:

Pertinacity

It means determinedly resolute 

in purpose, belief, or action.

Every great man or woman, every successful institution or business, has become great because of this one ingredient. 

Abraham Lincoln had it. 

He ran for numerous political offices, and lost. 

His fiancé died. 

He started two businesses and they both failed. 

And finally in 1860 he was elected the 16^th President of the United States. 

He had perseverance.

Cynthia Kersey tells the story of a man who wanted to be a lawyer so badly that he finally succeeded – after taking the bar exam forty-eight times. 

Forty-Eight Times! 

That is unbelievable. 

Yet he persevered.

He spent $50,000 in testing fees and 144 days in testing rooms, and he passed the bar exam.  AMAZING!

Jim Carey now has a well-established comedic career.  He is a film star and is considered one of the comedy greats.  But his early days were less than funny.  He practiced in front of a mirror, with a hair brush in hand as a prop microphone.  He listened, read, studied, practiced and became The Jim Carey that we all know about today. 

During the beginning days of his professional life he was a warm-up act for the bigger names in Vegas.  One night, when a big-time performer fell ill, Jim convinced the stage manager to let him go on in the limelight and that one moment in time launched him into the big time.  But he prepared for that one moment all his life. 

He persevered. 

J.K. Rowling is now worth $15 billion dollars, yet in 1995 her first novel was turned down by twelve publishers before Bloomsbury finally decided to take a chance on her.  However, they encouraged her to take a day job.  You might recognize her name from the Harry Potter books. 

She persevered.

--Walt Disney was once fired because he “didn’t have any good ideas.”

--Winston Churchill failed the sixth grade, yet became the Prime Minister of England.

--Albert Einstein could not speak until he was four and he didn’t leard to read until age seven, yet he is famous for the theory of relativity. 

What is perseverance? 

It is …

Determination

Focus

Pursuing a dream

Never giving up

Taking the alternate route when the main highway is closed

Perseverance is following one's dream to the end.

This quote still rings true. 

“The arrow that hits

 the bulls eye

is the result of

100 misses.” 

It’s perseverance that counts. 

Aim

               Fire

                               Miss

Correct, check, double check,

Fire again. 

PERSEVERE