http://www.flickr.com/photos/alexindigo/2364982213/
Persistence is another essential ingredient in Napoleon Hill’s success recipe. He describes it as the combination of willpower and desire. Others have had more colorful names for it.
Henry Ford was called obstinate for his hard-nosed follow-through. Fannie Hurst conquered the publishing world, but not before she received 36 rejection slips from The Saturday Evening Post. Kate Smith sang for years without money until Broadway knuckled under to her persistence.
Others who manage to hang on are counted by Hill among the most affluent and successful people of the early 20th century in the best-selling business book of all time, “Think and Grow Rich.”
______________________________________
Think and Grow Your Career, Part 9 of 10
Over the course of 20 years, Hill interviewed and observed them to find a recipe for success. In the book, he offers eight steps:
1. Desire
2. Faith
3. Autosuggestion
4. Specialized knowledge
5. Imagination
6. Organized planning
7. Decision
Step 8, the final one, is Persistence, in Hill’s own words, “The sustained effort necessary to induce faith.”
Ruthless, cold-blooded, and other terms come to mind when we think of the Carnegies, Rockefellers, and Edisons of Hill’s time, and perhaps the Waltons, Gates, and Buffets of today.
Perhaps we don’t want to be judged in those terms. We don’t want success if it comes wrapped in uncaring and blind ambition. We’ve all been haunted by the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future, even though we don’t resemble Scrooge in the least. Many of us interpret the demands of our culture to mean that we remain impoverished to stay “good.” If we get the good job or the promotion, suddenly, our morals are suspect, and we discover this best-of-all reason to give up.
The argument we must use on ourselves is that we are capable of drawing that boundary for ourselves. Just because we aim hard for success doesn’t mean we suddenly become hard-hearted. It is in our power to prevent that.
Some of us give in to fear. When it comes to a job search or career change, we fear looking foolish for backing a loser, especially when that so-called loser is ourselves. We fear ridicule, even if it is behind our backs. We fear letting people down who were supporting us, emotionally and financially. We fear failure itself. It is hard to admit defeat. It is harder to carry on when we appear wrong, especially if our trusted colleagues, friends, and even family members have decided we’ve lost.
In keeping with Hill’s philosophy that the only person who fails is the one who quits, what will keep your job search going?
1. Go back to the beginning: Ironically, you will forge ahead by returning to Chapter 1, Desire and practicing the six steps outlined there.
2. Use your affirmations: Say them more often and with more feeling. Success comes to those who have prepared their minds to attract it. You must keep your goal in front of you at all times. Your mind will not be a vacuum. If you do not fill it with what you want, what you don’t want will fill it by default.
3. Add to your Master Mind Group: If you don’t already have a member who is persistent, find one. Listen to them; learn from them.
4. Prepare an affirmation: Catch yourself at a weak moment, when you feel an “I don’t care” coming on, and say your affirmation.
5. Know that every time you catch yourself in a weak moment, you grow stronger and even more persistent.
Copyright © 2010, Jeri Hird Dutcher. All Rights Reserved.
Permission to Reprint: This article may be reprinted, provided it appears in its entirety with the following attribution: Reprinted by permission of Jeri Hird Dutcher, nationally certified career coach and resume writer. For information about coaching and resume services, visit www.Workwrite.net.
