Don't Give Up - The Importance of Perseverance

Don’t Give Up                                              

The message I am getting over, and over again, is the importance of persevering in your dreams or goals. When we see people, who have reached massive success, it is tempting to think that it just came easily to them when in fact, just the opposite is often the case. Walt Disney declared bankruptcy before achieving massive success and world-wide recognition. He’s not he only uber successful man to declare bankruptcy before achieving success and financial freedom. Milton Hershey (of Hershey chocolates, H. J Heinz (ketchup anyone?) and Henry Ford, all declared bankruptcy and struggled for a long time before achieving success.

Of course, there are many different kinds of struggles that successful people have overcome. I was listening to the Tony Robbins podcast and he was interviewing one of the founders of Airbnb about their struggles getting the company off-the-ground. At one point, the company founders talked with 10 different Silicon Valley investors who all said no. Thankfully they didn’t let that stop them from continuing to move forward – btw they are now a $30 billion company. It’s totally possible to get rejected by experts and have them be wrong. 

Other examples include J.K Rowling’s infamous rejection by multiple publishers for her Harry Potter transcript – don’t you bet those publishers are regretting that choice! Thankfully for her and for us, she persevered and did eventually get that book deal and the rest is history. She is now worth a $1 billion herself and her famous book series become a movie series, and there is even a theme-park based on the books.

There are so many of these kinds of examples so whatever you are hoping to achieve – success often comes after it seems elusive so don’t give up! If you want something, and you work at it long enough, it can be yours.

If you hit a wall and feel like you want to give up, here are some tips to help you move through the frustration and continue to move towards your vision for a better life:

·        Baby Steps: take small action steps, even 15 minutes a day on task for something you want can make a huge difference.

·        Break: If you are feeling burnt out, do something fun that you enjoy. We all need a mental break sometime.

·        Inspire: Do something that inspires you and surround yourself by inspiring people. They will rub off on you!

·        Body: Get moving literally! When we feel stuck, physical movement can help the energy flow and release endorphins so our outlook on just about everything improves.

·        Brainstorm: Think about some possible solutions to any obstacles in your way or things you can do to move forward.

·        Envision: Visualize yourself having the life and success you desire. Don’t just see it, but feel what it will be like when you achieve this.

One day, if you try one of these things and it doesn’t help, try another. This also keeps you from focusing on the problem – feeling stuck, and keeps your energy focused on what you want.

Stay positive and strong and keep moving forward. As long as you don’t give up hope, your dreams can come true! I realize this all sound rather hokey so hopefully I don’t sound too much like Jiminy Cricket. But I will say it again, your dreams really can come true!