Perseverance allows us to achieve our dreams and increases our confidence. In previous editions of the “Lunar Letter” we have talked about and referred to the formula:
C = EPPA²
Success comes from confidence and confidence comes from experience, preparation, perseverance and an excellent attitude. Today we will embark on an adventure in perseverance.
Many know the story of the Chinese Bamboo. The bamboo seed is planted, watered and cared for during one year and nothing can be seen. There is no sign of life. The seed is watered and cared for during an additional year and still nothing. The years pass and one wonders what is going on. Somewhere around the fifth year the Chinese Bamboo tree sprouts and then grows 90 feet in 6 weeks.
We know that the Chinese Bamboo was preparing for its incredible growth. During the five years nothing could be seen above ground, an elaborate system of roots was formed to enable the extraordinary growth in the fifth year.
Our success and confidence comes from the seeds we sow in our mind. We water the seeds of success and confidence with our actions and habits each day. Similar to the Chinese Bamboo, if we stop watering our seeds, they will wither away and die before we can see the results.
The secret many of us desire is to know how to persevere when we want to “throw in the towel” and quit. There is no easy answer and no magic formula. What we can do is to concentrate on the results of all that we do and be bold in the actions we take in order to achieve our objective. In the times we need it most, we can focus on the words of wise men who have persevered under the most difficult of circumstances:
“Continuous effort – not strength or intelligence – is the key to unlocking our potential.”
~ Winston Churchill
“It’s not that I’m so smart; it’s just that I stay with problems longer.”
~ Albert Einstein
“It is not the critic who counts. Not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or how the doer of deeds could do better. The credit belongs to the man, who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again, who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions and spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best, knows the triumph of high achievement; and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”
~ Theodore Roosevelt
By following these steps, we can be sure to put our best foot forward in all that we do and never have to look back wondering what might have been.
∞ Rob McBride ∞
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