THE POWER OF PERSISTENCE

Nothing can Take the Place of Persistence. Not Even Talent or money.

Persistence means to continue to the end until you see the picture in your heart become a reality. Persistence also means applying more pressuretowards achieving a set goal regardlessof obstacles, challenges, failures,disappointments, and discouragements. It means to persist to the end- never to give up on your dreams or on situations. It means never quit. It means to

persevere regardless of pain or failure in order to obtain the prize.

It also means to ‘insist’ or ‘place a demand’ on what you desire from life. It means to continue to pursue your dreams regardless of what people think or say. You show accountability for the gifts God has put in you, by developing the spirit of persistence towards achieving your set goals and objectives

You will face certain challenges in the course of pursuing your dreams and the pressure to quit along the way would increase. Quitting might be the best available option because of the size of the challenge or obstacle. 

However, you must understand that no one receives any prize for quitting along the way. Only those who persist until the end have the right to demand for their prizes. If you plan to succeed in life, erase the words, ‘quit’ and ‘give up’, from your vocabulary. God expects that though we fail many times, quiting must never be an option. Persist on getting what you believe is yours. 
Persist in achieving your set goals.

Those who imbibe the spirit of persistence eventually succeed in life.

While pursuing God’s plan for my life, many challenges confronts me which makes me feel like the best thing to do is to quit. However, I pick up myself each time and continue the race until I hit the mark. These challenges seem insurmountable sometimes, but quitting will never be an option for me. I persist and insist. Despite all the failures, past mistakes, and discouragements, I am more determined now than ever to reach my goals. In my head, I believe strongly that nothing and no one can stop me from reaching my goals. In me is the never-die spirit - the spirit of persistence.

Many people quit when they get so close to reaching their goal. A clear example is one in which many marathon runners begin a race but only a few reach the end. Incidentally, only the first three runners are entitled to a prize. The difference is that, all the runners had very tangible reasons to quit, such as tiredness and so on, but the ones who made it to the finish line persevered and persisted-they were determined to finish the race. Only those willing to pay the price of persistence qualify for the Prize.

It goes to say that challenges such as past failures and mistakes may have been our experiences in life, but to be on the winning side, we must persevere through the pains and hurt. Be persistent about achieving your dreams. Stay on even when challenges try to break you.  Be determined to make it to the end, bearing in mind that, only those who are persistent become finishers and winners.

Are you about to forfeit your education because you have no financial support? Have you given up on that writing or singing career just because only very few people believe in what you do or because you lack the financial resources for production? Are you about to give up on your marriage or relationship for understandable reasons? Are you searching for reasons why you should persist until you succeed in the midst of endless failures and heartaches? Do you really want to give up just because you think that you have come to the end of all you know? 

Before you make that hasty decision, read below the stories of many great men, including the story of one of the best presidents of the United States of American, Abraham Lincoln.

Abraham Lincoln was born in poverty, and had to face defeat throughout his life. He lost eight elections, twice failed in business, suffered nervous breakdown and was bedridden for six months. He could have quit many times, but he did not quit and became one of the greatest presidents in America.

He faced many hard times before achieving the feat of becoming the president of the United States of American. His family was forced out of their home and He had to work to support them. His mother died. He failed twice in business. He ran for State legislature and lost. He also lost his job. He wanted to go to law school but could not get in. He borrowed some money from a friend to begin a business, and by the end of the year, he was bankrupt. He spent the next 17 years of his life paying off this debt. He ran for state legislature again and this time around, he worn.

He was engaged to be married to his sweetheart when she died and his heart was broken. Because of that, He had a total nervous breakdown and was in bed for six month. He sought to become speaker of the state legislature but was again defeated. He sought to become elector – defeated. He ran for Congress and lost. He ran for Congress again and this time around, he won. He ran for re-election to Congress and was sure he would win because he did a good job in Washington but again, he lost. 
He sought the job of land officer in his home state and was rejected.

He ran for Senate of the United States and lost. He sought the Vice Presidential nomination at his party’s national convention and got less than 100 votes. He ran for U.S. Senate and again he lost. Finally, he contested to become the President of the United States and was elected. After losing a senate race in 1858, he said, “The part was worn and slippery. My foot slipped from under me, knocking the other out of the way, but I recovered and said to myself," It is a slip and not a fall" One who never fails, but learns, succeeds.

Oprah Winfrey was fired from one of her first jobs because she was “unfit for TV.” Yet she not only went on to be successful in “TV” but also became the richest black woman in the world and even started her own “TV” station “OWN”. worn

Grandma Moses, an America folk artist began painting in her seventies and continued at one hundred years of age. Someone said and I quote ‘we will never know how close we were to reaching our goals and objectives if we quit.’

Twelve different publishers rejected J.K Rowling, author of the Harry Potter books. Bloomsbury, the small publishing house who finally purchased Rowling’s books was not impressed by her work, and told her to “get a day job.” At the time, she was going through a divorce, lived in a small house with her daughter, was surviving on government welfare, and her mum had just died from multiple sclerosis-her life was a total mess. That book not only became a bestseller but also made her so wealthy that she became the second wealthiest entertainer in the world only behind Oprah Winfrey. Today, her brand is worth almost $15 billion.

Steve Jobs of apple was sacked from the company he started. However, he went on to found neXT, a software company and Pixar, the company that produces animated movies. Apple later purchased neXT. He went back to apple and was responsible for Apple’s resurgence in popularity.

Michael Jordan cried after being removed from his high school basketball team. However, he was not deterred or discouraged. He pressed on because he believed he would succeed and succeed he did. One man said that he spent 10 years and made a total number of 32 calls before a baseball team was sold to him.

What is your excuse? Why would you stop trying? Winners fall but get up and keep moving, regardless of adversity. They persist. Persistence is like knocking on a door continuously assuming that the owner of the house has not opened the door because he has not heard the knock. Perhaps, if you continue knocking, the owner of the house will become weary and open the door for you. Even the Bible in Luke 18 and James 1:12 recognise the power of persistence. You will eventually reap the harvest if you continue pursuing your dreams. At times, it might seem so difficult to continue moving because of obstacles and challenges. 

However, continue moving even if it means moving at a crawl-rate. Persist. Do not take no for an answer and the sky will sure be your starting point. Whatever you do, persist till the end. You will succeed!

You can also read 'THE OTHER SIDE OF SHAME. 

For enquiries, questions, or comments, contact me on facebook, twitter, email, or my phone number