Perseverance

Perseverance is one of my favorite topics. It's a word and a concept that I identify with. I love it because it doesn't insinuate that I need to be the smartest person in the room, graduated top of my class from an Ivy League school. Nor does it suggest that I need to be the quickest to solve the problem, have the biggest amount of venture capital in my business or be born with the right contacts. Not to say that all of those things don't contribute to ones success. 

Perseverance speaks to a deeper, more basal character trait. It's the ability to press on in spite of difficulties, failures, or opposition. It's stick-to-itiveness, and grit. It's about getting knocked down and getting back up. It's about finding a way to make it happen, finding solutions. It's about NEVER, under any circumstances, giving up. It is a faith in ones self, that you will succeed, period. 

In order to succeed, you need to have this quality in spades. If you've been in the trenches as a business owner or a sales person for any amount of time, you know that things don't always go your way. You will experience the aforementioned difficulties, failures and opposition with increasing frequency as you continue to advance. I saw a quote floating around Instagram recently that said "If your life just got harder, congratulations! You just leveled up!" Success doesn't happen in the absence of adversity, it happens in spite of it. 

So let's change our perspective about adversity. Let's get excited when shit hits the fan! You know it's part of the game so embrace it! Make a decision to not let anything stop you! I used to play a game with myself when I was "dialing for dollars". I knew my numbers super well so I knew that on average I would set 1 appointment for every 3 conversations that I had. So every "no" got me closer to a "yes". If you know where you are headed the bumps along the way are inconsequential. You've gotta play the long game. Just like my sales calls, the law of large numbers works in our favor with business and success when carried out over a long enough period of time. 

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this, or better yet, a great story about a personal experience with perseverance!