The fruits of persitence

Courage to start and willingness to keep everlasting at it are the requisites for success.  Alonzo Newton Benn

The easiest thing to do is day dream when awake and dream when asleep and one is transported into a world of pure magic and make belief till we are rudely awakened. It is at this point that we make the painful realization that real life demands that we can attain success only by the courage to begin working towards our dream and more importantly keep at it till we attain it. (Let me take the liberty of sharing a personal example here. For years I believed I was a good writer and I had the right blend of academics to back up this belief. The trouble was, I always believed that I could pen to paper and presto my book would be ready but I just never got around to doing it. On 1^st Jan2010 I finally took the first step to write a daily blog. The going was very tough because I was not quite sure that I really could write consistently and interestingly daily. With a wide variety of motivators, particularly the number of views nearly 34,900 at this point and fast growing numbers of followers 260 as on date and the numerous positive feedback and comments, I have managed to write almost every day for 300 odd days)

There are 3 secrets of success. The first is to begin. We often confuse thinking about an activity as the beginning, which is partially true but far too often we are just planning and planning and remain at the drawing board for eternity. In reality what we are doing is giving into our own laziness and lethargy and camouflaging it under the veil of planning since it is done in a very passive way most times. A plan is not even worth the paper it is written on, unless someone actually rolls up his/ her sleeve and BEGINS. It is the execution of the plan that proves that the plan is complete and workable. We do not start because we lack confidence, we are afraid to commit and we fear failure. As long as we are in the planning stage we believe that we can succeed but when we begin there is no looking back for the die has been cast.

The second secret is to persist no matter what the odds are. Anything that we first attempt always seems daunting and tough. Remember the number of times you fell down while learning to ride a bicycle or the tardy and embarrassing attempts at first playing pool/ snooker.  The learning process and the success achieved are testimony to the reality that if we persist we will be able to mange success provided we have the aptitude and attitude for the venture. Aptitude and attitude are very vital qualities that have major bearing on the success of our venture. If one does not have one of the two attributes persistence will be akin to foolhardiness and obstinacy. The key is to do what our heart desires and not to chase goals that we have neither the interest in nor any aptitude for. E.g. It is widely expected that a child of doctor parents will become a doctor but if he/ she chooses to become a painter or historian, there will be societal pressure on him/ her to follow in the parents footsteps. Succumbing to that pressure is a sure shot way to failure.

Success is really established by the third secret viz. consistency and quality of output. Mediocrity is the bane of success, for anyone can attempt and mange to do something without any urge to excel. It is the urge to be excellent, the pride of being recognized, the appreciation of the peers and competitors that one must aim for to really relish success. This involves continuous improvement, benchmarking and strict quality adherence. This is therefore a slow process for there is a lot of trial and error that goes into the process of improvement. When we improve, we enhance the output and establish our own benchmarks of excellence. The beauty of success is that it is not a destination but a journey and so every single day one can savor unlimited success.

Remember: “Success means having the courage, the determination, and the will to become the person you believe you were meant to be”  George Sheehan

Try this:

1. Outline 3 changes that you will work on to improve your own personality. By Monday ensure that you are implementing your plan and see the results after 1 month. Repeat this exercise every month.
2. List out your 3 major success in your life and the reason you succeeded. Also list out 3 plans you have for the future that when achieved will be a major success for you.

This post is courtesy www.actspot.com

You are also invited to visit our WEEKLY Inspirational and Motivational Blog www.poweract.blogspot.com