TAGR #8: Persistence

"Nothing in the world can take the place of Persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan “Press On” has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race."

- Calvin Coolidge

The above quote says much of what I wanted to add on this subject. If you don't have persistence, you will fail. Period.

In my own life, the quality of persistence worked like this in my basic areas:

1) Body. It took me 17 YEARS of training to earn my first black belt (I currently hold three, including a 4th degree in Kenpo). On average, it takes 3-5 years, but I was dealing with a crippling lack of self-confidence, fear, and a negative self-image created by childhood trauma. I banged my head against that barrier literally for decades.

2) Mind. I set a goal of being a professional writer, and decided to write and submit 100 short stories before I even BEGAN to evaluate the "reasonableness" of my goal. Everyone I knew told me I couldn't do it. My own mother tore up my early stories, for fear I'd waste my life. Only obsessive doggedness got me through. (P.S.--I made it to about #23 before I started selling).

3) Spirit. I investigated dozens of different paths, religions, spiritual teachers...always disappointed when they either turned out to be dead ends, or simply didn't fit my personal needs. Somehow, I never lost faith that I would find an answer. That answer came perhaps seven years ago, with a beautiful "ah-hah" moment where the answers to the questions "who am I" and "what is true" were clarified for me. All of the work had indeed paid off, but not as I expected, and not in the timing I'd anticipated. But...persistence was everything.

4) Finances. For decades, I ignored this. Being one of the fortunate few who could make damned good money simply following my bliss, I was insulated from many adult realities, and therefore unable to properly coach people without my specialized skills and fortune. Despite advice from friends and role models, I just couldn't get the little kid inside me to pay attention. Finally, after over a decade of thinking about it, I realized that the fact that my mother had originally exposed me to TAGR as a child could be used to my advantage. That "inner child" misses his Mommy terribly, and is willing to study TAGR as a way of feeling more connected to her once again. But lord, did I ever try a raft of techniques before I found the right one!

Where in YOUR life have you allowed lack of persistence to limit your success? Look at all four of these arenas, and I can pretty much promise you that at least one has been a major challenge. To increase persistence:

1) Clarify your goals. Write them out, and re-write them daily.

2) Clarify the benefits. Get SUPER clear on all the pleasure you will add to your life if you accomplish these aims. Let yourself REALLY feel it!

3) Clarify the punishment. Get SUPER clear on all the pain you will feel if you do NOT make these changes. Let yourself REALLY feel it!

Just these steps, taken seriously, will change your life!

Steve

Live with passion!

p.s.--if YOU have a dream of being a writer, here's free help!

http://diamondhour.com/FREELifewritingForWritersNewsletter.en.html