Press On!

“Many men fail because they quit too soon. They lose faith when the signs are against them. They do not have the courage to hold on, to keep fighting in spite of that which seems insurmountable.

C. E. Welch

I’ve Been Thinking . . . about why some people quit and others keep going.

Comic strip creator Charles Schultz was not an overnight success. Even after the strip sold, it took an additional few years for “Peanuts” to attract nationwide attention. Charles Schultz epitomized Vince Lombardi’s thought that “The harder you work, the harder it is to surrender.” Schultz continued creating and illustrating at One Snoopy Lane in Santa Rosa, California. Ten years after his introduction to the world, Charlie Brown and his friends became a household name.

Most people can perform exuberantly for a day, a week, or even a month. But if you want ongoing success, it takes an impassioned belief in what you do, supported by an unwavering commitment to see your ambition through to the finish. There will no doubt be stumbling blocks along the way but they are only reminders to make adjustments, reassess priorities and evaluate to your conviction. Don’t get sidetracked. Remember, “Persistence,” says personnel executive Robert Half, “is what makes the impossible possible, the possible likely and the likely definite.”

I remember watching the funeral services of Richard Nixon with mixed emotions. President Nixon was revered by many for his achievements and international diplomatic efforts. Others harbored bitterness for the blemishes caused by the Watergate scandal.

Henry Kissinger eulogized his friend at the graveside. “So let us now say good-bye to our gallant friend. He stood on pinnacles that dissolved in the precipice. He achieved greatly and he suffered deeply. But he never gave up.”
In their tears, many standing at the graveside must have reflected on the tenacity of the man who once said, “A man is not finished when he’s defeated. He’s finished when he quits.”

Most of us never have, and hopefully never will, experience the trials and tribulations of Richard Nixon. You can be encouraged however by one who spoke from experience. Persistence is an essential element for experiencing success in any endeavor.

Thought of throwing in the towel lately? Have you experienced feelings that the project you’re involved in just isn’t worth the effort? Has discouragement become a way of life? How many self pity parties have you organized?

Take heart, you’re not alone. Winners and losers alike experience these feelings. What separates them? Losers dwell on them until paralyzed by their own inaction. Winners work through the emotional difficulties while hanging on to the conviction that nothing will stop them from achieving their dream.

Dr. Norman Vincent Peale poured his emotional energy and personal philosophy into a written manuscript. A host of publishers responded with rejection slips causing Dr. Peale to pitch his manuscript into the wastebasket. His wife Ruth believed in the printed prize possession and determined to help her husband get it published.

She personally visited a publisher who had not yet been contacted. The publisher immediately noticed that her package looked odd, unlike any book manuscript he had ever received. It was big and bulky, not even the normal shape. When he unwrapped the package, he was surprised to find a garbage can containing a manuscript that the world has come to know as The Power of Positive Thinking. Ruth Stafford Peale’s courage to try one more time made it possible for her husband’s book to sell over 30 million copies.

It was no doubt his wife’s efforts that inspired Dr. Peale to remain unaffected by disappointment. He once said, “I never let go of something I desperately want to do or think needs to be done. If I can’t do it head on, I will look for a circuitous way to do it. The idea is to do it no matter what method you use.” (Maybe he was referring to delivering a book manuscript in a wastebasket).

Multitudes of people get sidetracked from achieving their dreams. “Many people fail in life because they believe in the adage: If you don’t succeed, try something else,” believes Don. B. Owens, Jr. “But success eludes those who follow such advice....The dreams that have come true did so because people stuck to their ambitions. They refused to be discouraged. They never let disappointment get the upper hand. Challenges only spurred them on to greater effort.”

You will never achieve all you are capable of unless you stay focused and are willing to take whatever action is necessary to realize your dreams, regardless of the obstacles you encounter.

Press on! Press on! Press on!

"That which we persist in doing becomes easier to do, not that the nature of the thing has changed but that our ability to do has increased.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson