P = Persist

(I'm on vacation and a book signing tour in TN and will resume with the next post on the Friday after Thanksgiving.  The letter "Q" is next and its a good one.  Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.)

In Og Mandino’s classic best seller The Greatest Salesman in the World, the third scroll is titled I Will Persist until I Succeed. 

The art of persistence is one of the most critical traits one must master.  Persistence literally makes or breaks us.  It is the determining factor when pursuing any worthwhile goal and dream.

I have used the following two paragraphs often and they are worthy of being repeated here.

One of my favorite books is The Winds of War by Herman Wouk.  In this book, Mr. Wouk recounts a scene in which General E. J. Tillet, military author and one of the Commanding Generals for England during WWII, is speaking to the main character named Pug Henry.  Tillet is making an observation about Hermann Goering.

He said this.  “He’s wasted a whole bloody month bombing harbors and pottering about after convoys.  He’s only got till September the fifteenth.  His mission is mastery of the air, not blockade.  Define your mission!  Define your mission and stick to it!” 

The art of "defining" and "sticking to it" is all about focus.  Giving definition to a goal simply brings your objective into better view.  Once we know what it is we are aiming for, the more likely we are to hit the target.

A personal story:  The red-letter day in my life was the day when I identified my mission statement – Offering hope, encouragement and inspiration one word at a time.  

Those ten words have reformed everything I do as a writer and a speaker.  They give definition, purpose, aim and meaning to my life.

The same will be for you.  Know what you want – purpose.

Determine how you will get there – plan.

Do the hard work, cross the bridges, work your plan until you see success lurking around the corner - persistence.

Perhaps we need a few inspiring 

words as we wrap this up.

“We are made to persist.  That’s how we find out who we are.”

~Tobias Wolff

“The key of persistence opens all doors closed by resistance.”

~John Di Lemme

“Do it badly;

do it slowly;

do it fearfully;

do it any way you have to,

but do it.”

~Steve Chandler

“Thankfully, persistence is a great substitute for talent.”

~Steve Martin, Comedian

And now we return to Og Mandino’s words from The Scroll Marked III.

“The prizes of life are at the end of each journey, not near the beginning; and it is not given to me to know how many steps are necessary in order to reach my goal.  Failure I may still encounter at the thousandth step, yet success hides behind the next bend in the road.  Never will I know how close it lies unless I turn the corner.”

~Og Mandino

The key is PERSISTENCE!

P Michael Biggs

Up-Words Web Site

Offering Hope

Encouragement Inspiration

One Word at a Time