Temporary Defeat, or Permanent Failure?

Mid-week motivation to keep you moving towards success.

“Failure is a trickster with a keen sense of irony and cunning. It takes great delight in tripping one when success is almost within reach.” ~ Napoleon Hill

In Napoleon Hill's classic book, Think and Grow Rich, a true story is relayed about a man who lost out on millions because he stopped three feet from success. Another man, who picked up where he left off, did a little research, called in an expert, and literally struck gold, simply because he did not give up.

Here is that story, as told in the book:

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THREE FEET FROM GOLD

One of the most common causes of failure is the habit of quitting when one is overtaken by temporary defeat. Every person is guilty of this mistake at one time or another.

An uncle of R. U. Darby was caught by the "gold fever" in the gold-rush days, and went west to DIG AND GROW RICH. He had never heard that more gold has been mined from the brains of men than has ever been taken from the earth. He staked a claim and went to work with pick and shovel. The going was hard, but his lust for gold was definite.

After weeks of labor, he was rewarded by the discovery of the shining ore. He needed machinery to bring the ore to the surface. Quietly, he covered up the mine, retraced his footsteps to his home in Williamsburg, Maryland, told his relatives and a few neighbors of the "strike." They got together money for the needed machinery, had it shipped. The uncle and Darby went back to work the mine.

The first car of ore was mined, and shipped to a smelter. The returns proved they had one of the richest mines in Colorado! A few more cars of that ore would clear the debts. Then would come the big killing in profits.

Down went the drills! Up went the hopes of Darby and Uncle! Then something happened! The vein of gold ore disappeared! They had come to the end of the rainbow, and the pot of gold was no longer there! They drilled on, desperately trying to pick up the vein again-- all to no avail.

Finally, they decided to QUIT.

They sold the machinery to a junk man for a few hundred dollars, and took the train back home. Some "junk" men are dumb, but not this one! He called in a mining engineer to look at the mine and do a little calculating. The engineer advised that the project had failed, because the owners were not familiar with "fault lines." His calculations showed that the vein would be found JUST THREE FEET FROM WHERE THE DARBYS HAD STOPPED DRILLING! That is exactly where it was found!

The "Junk" man took millions of dollars in ore from the mine, because he knew enough to seek expert counsel before giving up.

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The cycle of keyword research, content creation, website design, and article marketing can all take its toll on new marketers, and even seasoned ones too. We need to remember that we are building our business over time, and that each step we take can make that stronger and more stable for our future.

Like a baby learning to walk, there are hundreds of tiny steps, mostly unseen or unsung, long before that big moment where everything takes off and you're running at full speed.

Remember to keep pushing forward and not let temporary defeat---a lack of traffic, lack of sales, lack of time or knowledge---become a permanent failure.

Call in the experts here at Wealthy Affiliate before giving up.

Post in live chat, the forum, one of the discussion boards, and ask for the help you need, whether it is a critique of your website, help with finding information, or simply just a boost to keep you motivated and moving forward in the face of temporary defeat.

How do you keep yourself motivated when things seem overwhelming?

Please share in the comments below!