Thursday, March 1, 2012

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 fiancĂ© died. 
He started two businesses and they both failed. 
And finally in 1860 he was elected the 16th 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


1 comment:

  1. I love this! This post reminds me so much of one of my mentors, a 62-year-old woman who never gives up: http://www.chicagonow.com/barefoot-in-the-burbs/2011/08/patience-persistence-and-perseverance/

    I'm really blown away by the lawyer who persisted 48 times-- wow! Thank you for sharing.

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