Napoleon Hill, one of the great original self help gurus, devoted a chapter solely to persistence in his landmark book "Think and Grow Rich" simply because he felt it was extremely important. This particular chapter makes reference to persistence as being the sustained effort necessary to induce faith and was regarded by Hill as the eighth step towards becoming rich. However, the importance of persistence is also laid down on page one of this chapter in another sentence. "There may be no heroic connotation to the word "persistence," but the quality is to the character of man what carbon is to steel." Persistence reinforces the temperament of a person so much that he can do whatever it takes to attain his goal or complete the task in hand.
There have been several examples of this throughout history. The founder of the vaccine for polio, Dr. Jonas Salk, persisted with his studies even though he had failed 200 times before finding a vaccine which worked. Another example is when Thomas Edison continued battling to create a light bulb even though he had not succeeded on more than 10,000 previous occasions. His persistence was eventually rewarded and every night when the darkness comes, we use his invention in our homes.
If you take an interest in reading autobiographies, you will discover that many rich and famous people failed on numerous occasions before becoming successful. Their persistence permitted them to achieve what they were determined to get. The power of persistence shows that any individual will ultimately reach their goal if they persist long and hard enough and that this is the only characteristic with this power. A slow and persistent trickle of water over the same spot on a rock for a long period of time will eventually wear away the rock and although the stone is harder than the water, with persistence the water will always be victorious, proving that persistence will always win.
These four small steps will help you to use persistence regularly.
1. Set a specific goal and maintain it with a very strong longing for fulfillment.
2. Have a clear-cut plan to follow and take constant action on such a plan.
3. Do not pay attention to any unconstructive or off-putting proposals. Also, do not let any negative incidents discourage you from progressing with your actions.
4. Find a mentor who will give you confidence in your accomplishments and who will drive you forward if you slow down.
It makes no difference what you are aiming for, as long as you follow these four useful steps you cannot help but be successful in all you do. These steps can be used to improve your wealth, become powerful, receive recognition, fame and freedom of thought turning all your dreams and inspirations into reality.
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