Persistence

Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence.
Talent will not; nothing is more common
than unsuccessful men with talent.
Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb.
Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts.
Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.

— Calvin Coolidge

This is one of my all-time favorite quotes. I have committed it to memory at various times in my life and had it posted on the wall of my office on many occasions.

I am a firm believer that the tortoise always wins the race in the end. Every worthwhile journey is long and arduous. Determination and persistence compel me to continue to put one foot in front of the other and trod on.

I lived in Colorado in the late 80’s and had many occasion to hike in the Rocky Mountains. The trails were often rough and the terrain rugged. But the vistas were panoramic. Every once in a while I would look over my shoulder and be amazed at how far I had traveled.

Such is life. I have led some significant organizational transformations in my professional career and I have experienced my share of challenges and growth in my personal life. The way forward is always deliberate and steady. All change is incremental. Persistence and determination are omnipotent.

Similar Posts

  • The Illusion of Knowledge

    The greatest obstacle to discovering the shape of the earth, the continents and the ocean was not ignorance but the illusion of knowledge.

    — Daniel Boorstin

    To really appreciate the profundity of this quote you have to think back to Galileo (1564 – 1642) and his epic battle with the Roman Catholic church over the nature of our solar system. Although Copernicus (1473 – 1543) had developed the heliocentric theory a hundred years earlier, the “prevailing wisdom” maintained that the earth was at rest at the center of the universe while the sun and the planets revolved around it.

    But Galileo had a telescope — and became convinced that Copernicus was right. He championed the sun-centric “theory” at great personal risk. He was declared a heretic, forced to recant, and spent the last years of his life under house arrest. The church did not lift its ban on the general prohibition against works advocating heliocentrism until 1758.

  • Spelling

    People who can’t spell a word in more than one way are dumb.

    — W. C. Fields

    I stumbled upon this quote early in my career and have had the opportunity to recite it countless times. I taught high school for two years right out of college and the students were merciless. I moved on to teaching at the college level for many more years where the students were more forgiving but no less astute. Then I made the move to corporate America where, as a business professional, there no end to the opportunities to make presentations or take notes at the whiteboard. Despite my passionate commitment to correct spelling and grammar an occasional misspelling in front of the class or a typo in the PowerPoint deck is inevitable.

    Here is where our old friend W.C. Fields comes to the rescue. After discovering a spelling mistake in front of a group of people I simply recite his pearl of wisdom, wait for the mild aknowledgement of smiles, and move on. No need to have your confidence shaken or allow the audience to derail your message. Just move on quickly with wit and aplomb.

    The aphorism plays equally well from the audience as it does from the podium. It is a great way to help a presenter through a rough spot if they become unnerved by a typo.

  • Be the Best of Whatever You Are

    If you can’t be a pine at the top of the hill,
         Be a shrub in the valley – but be
    The best little shrub by the side of the hill;
         Be a bush if you can’t be a tree.

    If you can’t be a bush, be a bit of grass,
         And some highway happier make;
    If you can’t be a muskie then just be a bass,
         But the liveliest bass in the lake!

    We can’t all be captains, some have to be crew,
         There’s something for all of us here;
    There’s work to be done, and we all have to do
         Our part in the way that’s sincere.

    If you can’t be a highway, then just be a trail,
         If you can’t be the sun, be a star;
    It isn’t by size that you win or you fail,
         Be the best of whatever you are.

    — Douglas Mallock

  • We just decided to go

    From now on, we live in a world where man has walked on the moon. And it’s not a miracle, we just decided to go.

    — Jim Lovell

    There is a scene in the movie Apollo 13 in which astronaut Jim Lovell is hosting a dinner party at his house. At some point in the evening he escapes the hubbub of his guests and takes a seat in a lawn chair in the back yard. When someone comes out to join him he utters the phrase above.

    The moon landings were the culmination of a gargantuan series of tasks. Thousands of people invested hundreds of thousands of hours coordinating and delivering on thousands of tasks. It wasn’t a miracle that we landed on the moon. We just set our minds to it and decided to go.

    Theme of the week: Just decide to go.

One Comment

  1. Hi Heather — Wow! I love this! I am going to print this and put it on my bathroom mirror… I really needed this blog entry. I get so impatient and forget that the best things in life are worth waiting (and working hard) for. Whether that is a panoramic view or a big pipeline of business. 🙂

    Great seeing you today! — Rebeka

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.