The Power of Persistence - The Most Powerful Force Known by Daniel R. Murphy 

While there is no single or exclusive attribute of success the closest thing to a single attribute of success is persistence. Persistence may be the single most important factor in most success.

Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan, "press on" has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race. Calvin Coolidge, Thirtieth President of the United States. 

Few people demonstrate the raw gumption it takes to be truly persistent in the face of failure, setbacks and frustration.  

When Thomas Edison had tested 10,000 materials for possible use as the filament in an electric light bulb he was asked if he was discouraged because none of them worked - he was asked if this failure distressed him or made him want to give up. 

Edison was amazed by this question. Absolutely not he replied. There is no failure here. I have now determined 10,000 that will not work and can be ruled out, leaving me to find what will work.  

How many people would try, fail 10,000 times, and then try again. How many will keep on trying after ten failures? Will you? 

Admiral Robert Perry attempted to reach the North Pole 7 times before he succeeded on try number 8. 

Out of 28 initial rocket launch attempts NASA only succeeded with 8. 

Oscar Hammerstein had five shows flop before he reached success with Oklahoma! which ran for 269 weeks and grossed over $7 million. 

Tawni O'Dell tried to publish six novels over a 13 year period. All were rejected repeatedly. She collected over 300 rejection slips. She did not give up. After continued persistence her first novel, Back Roads, was published in 2000. Oprah Winfrey chose her book for the Oprah Book Club and the title rose to the top of the best seller list.  

The list could go on indefinitely of the people who have persisted no matter how much discouragement they face and found success.  

Perhaps the best teacher of the value of persistence is a toddler. Have you ever watched a toddler learn to walk? How many times do they get up, totter about, stand, fall, stand again, fall again, and then start to walk, one halting step at a time. How many times do they fall before they can stand and walk? Hundreds? Thousands? It takes months of persistence for a small child to learn to stand and walk. They do not give up and no one would expect them to give up. Persistence changes them into a successful bipedal creature that eventually can walk, run, and engage in all manner of athletic activity. All because they did not give up. All because they were magnificently persistent.  

Learn from small children and great men and women of history. Learn from your own experiences. Learn that persistence pays off. Do not give up easily. Try and try and try and try and try again.  

As Winston Churchill observed, the most important secret to success in any challenge is to Never, Never, Never, Never, Never, Never, Never give up! 

(c) 2009, 2010 by Daniel R. Murphy