Let me tell you the secret that has led me to my
goal. My strength lies solely in my tenacity. – Louis Pasteur
Tenacity, the ability to keep going when all signs point to quitting. We can find hundreds of stories of people who didn’t give up. Thomas Edison failed 1000 times before he invented the light bulb. A striking story of tenacity and perseverance, what if he had stopped at attempt 999? Would we know who Thomas Edison was today?
He might be as obscure as Ronald Wayne. You may ask, “Who is Ronald Wayne?” In 1976 three men came together and formed a partnership to form a company. But, because of internal pressures and disputes he sold his 10% ownership for $800. Today that 10% share of Apple would be worth $60 billion.
Or, perhaps as unknown as Chris Hill-Scott. Chris and two friends founded SwiftKey in 2008. SwiftKey is an app and technology that is used in millions of smartphones to predict what the user is going to type next and correct mistakes. Chris Hill-Scott couldn’t handle the pressure and after two months quit and decided to trade his shares in for a bicycle. Several years later when SwiftKey was acquired by Microsoft his two partners each received around $50 million.
Life is a series of choices, the most important of which is to give up or make one more attempt. We can find many stories of people that kept moving forward in the face of overwhelming rejection or obstacles. Today they are known as successes, but, Henry Ford, J. K. Rowling, Oprah Winfrey, Abraham Lincoln, Albert Einstein and many others had to overcome setbacks, obstacles and failures to become the successes they are known as today.
Perhaps for now, it seems virtually impossible to attain your goal, but keep in mind that you’re not alone. Most successful individuals faced the same struggles before they reached the peak of success.
Overcoming failures or setbacks in life is not a piece of cake, but through tenacity and perseverance obstacles can be conquered.
Remember this quote of Thomas Edison:
“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how
close they were to success when they gave up.”
Rick Christensen: Director, Career Transition Practice
Rick has been a career consultant for over 25 years, serving a very broad-based and diverse clientele. His specialties include effective group facilitation, one-on-one coaching and consultation at all levels including senior executives.
Rick’s passion is coaching individuals through career transitions, developing career management strategies and in identifying and sharpening competencies to open doors to new opportunities. His efforts have assisted thousands of individuals achieve their full potential.
Contact Rick at: Rick@CareerDevelopmentPartners.com
