Persistence! Chapter IX - Do You Have It? - Without it Failure Is Guaranteed
Napoleon Hill provided a below the belt test on ones persistence. For those who have been reading the book Think and Grow Rich or following this book study, I want to take you back to Chapter 2.
Remember we were tasked to write down what our desire was in terms of the money we needed to earn and when? As well as the effort we were going to give in order to achieve that goal? Lastly, we had to read that aloud twice a day with conviction.
Here is the test of persistence. Have we been following that directive? Napoleon Hill gave us the reason to do that.
It would help to keep us focused on our desire. And thus program our minds to seek out the actions necessary for success.
The corollary was if we didn't do this, either our desire wasn't strong enough, or we didn't believe we could achieve it.
Heavy stuff indeed.
My Failings
I have to confess that I have not been reading what I wrote twice each day. In fact, there are days that have passed before I noticed I wasn't doing that.
Napoleon Hill recognized that this would happen even with the best of intentions. So he directed us after reading Chapter 9 we should return to Chapter 2 and read it again. Confirm that the desire we wrote back then was powerful and big enough. If it wasn't, that could be one of the reasons we stopped going through that process.
Now was the time to make a correction before moving forward. You see Mr. Hill recognized the weakness of human nature.
Redemption
However, there is redemption. It is OK to fail. Redemption comes in recognizing our failures and use our persistence to resume our journey with a higher level of conviction and never give up.
The whole purpose of this activity was to help us focus on our actions we agreed to do in order to achieve our goals. Are we doing that? If we are indeed following our plans, then we are on the right track. Reading our goals and plans every day helps us to stay on track.
Lack of persistence is one of the major causes of failure. This just happens to be the weakness of the vast majority of humanity.
We have over 2 million members in Wealthy Affiliate. Do the vast majority of us lack persistence? What do you think?
Think and Grow Rich is indented to help us overcome this and other weaknesses so that WE CAN SUCCEED!
Money or Poverty Consciousness
There is another gem he gives us. If we do not condition ourselves to be money conscious, poverty consciousness will automatically take its place There is no middle ground.
The following two sentences from the book says it all:
"A poverty consciousness develops without conscious application of habits favorable to it. The money consciousness must be created to order, unless one is born with such a consciousness."
One of the reasons it helps to create a Master Mind is to help us remain persistence. Failure will occur. Most will give up. It is only those who stay persistent will succeed. We can learn from our failures.
The Biggest Failures
People who we see as being extremely successful are also the worlds biggest failures. The difference is, they never gave up and eventually found what was necessary to win.
Some people think that those who succeed were lucky or happened to get some breaks. What people do not see is the blood sweat and tears that preceded that success. Breaks are made to order.
The good news is we can train ourselves to be persistent. Knowing what we must do to succeed rather than guessing is all important. If we do not know, we will fail.
There is a 16 point test to determine what our weaknesses are that derail us being persistence. I strongly suggest we all take the test to better know our weaknesses, Once we know our weak points, we can correct them.
4 Steps To Develop Persistence
There are 4 simple steps we need to take to develop persistence, and I quite:
- A definite purpose backed by a burning desire for its fulfillment
- A definite plan, expressed in continuous action
- A mind closed tightly against all negative and discouraging influences, including negative suggestions of family, friends and acquaintances.
- A friendly alliance with one or more persons who will encourage us to follow through with both plan and purpose.
There are many characters he cited who were down-and-out but were persistent enough to overcome adversity and succeed. These kinds of individuals have existed throughout humanity. Even today if we look closely we will find such individuals.
Pick any successful individual in any field of endeavor and you will see such a person.
Napoleon Hill used himself as an example of being persistence for 20 years to write Think and Grow Rich. He also used Mohammed as an example that I found incredible. His story was fascinating. If you haven't't read this chapter yet, you should read it. All of it.
I would like your thoughts on this chapter. Mr. Hill didn't mince words. He told it like it is whether we like it or not.
Do We Know What We Really Want?
We have to ask ourselves the question, do we truly want to succeed in our affiliate marketing business? We should revisit what our money goals are and to what purpose are we going to apply this wealth?
Looking forward to hearing from you.
Cheers
Edwin
P.S. For those who wish to catch up on all previous chapters in this book study, here is the unifying link;
Think and Grow Rich - Could Be Worth A Million Dollars To You!
Recent Comments
25
What I realized after reading your post and chapter 9 is that I do not have a written organized plan for achieving each of my goals. I have some vague ideas but nothing is written down. My first goal for tomorrow morning is to write out my detailed plan for achieving each of my goals, including dates for completing each task in the plan. Too much time seems to be going by without any movement closer to my goals and I think it's because I'm not putting any time limits on tasks to complete.
I'm writing out my plan, including dates, and doing at least one thing every day on that plan. I'm also going to stick with one goal at a time instead of working on several goals at the same time. I think that is also slowing me down.
It was so important to reread chapter 2. It helped me to refocus and to see where I was getting it wrong, (currently). The poem in this chapter is one of my favorites. I wrote the third stanza on an index card a long time ago and I keep it with my goal cards. I think we can never aim too high as long as the desire is authentic.
Your posts are very helpful! Thank you for taking all the time to do this project.
Veronica
Hi Veronica,
I am so glad that this book study project is helping you and a few other members to refocus how they are conducting their affiliate marketing business.
Since I am reading this book for the first time, I am also getting a lot of benefit from it.
You should also know that Napoleon Hill teaches us that we will stray from our goals and make mistakes. The important thing is to recognize that is so and take corrective action.
That is exactly what you are doing. Success will be yours.
I have been working on my MMO site since March of last year. I am just starting to get a few referrals. And I have learned how to use the affiliate system autoresponder here to communicate with them. Hence I only need to focus on promoting the program and expect that I will be receiving referrals.
Keep up the great work.
Edwin
Hi Veronica,
Each of us can attest to the importance of a well thought-out written plan however, that plan is only as effective as our intent - our persistent intent - to put that plan into action.
As long you keep moving one foot in front of the other - keep taking steps that take you closer to your goals, you'll be fine. There's no reason to beat yourself up over small short-comings!
"Thinking and Growing Rich" requires a LOT and for some, it is more than for others. For those of us who need to "unlearn" a poverty consciousness, there is more to learn which also means there is more opportunity to fall behind.
Never give up and you're already light years ahead of most!
Susan
Thank you Susan for those encouraging thoughts! I can’t seem to do what I want quick enough but you are right. We don’t fail unless we quit. I will just keep moving forward. Best wishes to you too!
Veronica
Like FKelso, I have been reading my affirmation morning and night. I am also practicing visualization with pictures on my bulletin board that define my success.
For some reason, this chapter has been my favorite so far. I think the reason is that it resonated with my personality.
My nickname is Bulldog; given to me by my supportive friend that told me I should read this book right before you started this group. He knows I will work like a bulldog until I get what I want. This is persistence. This is who I am.
Hill says persistence is the direct result of habit. If you have fear or doubt, this can be cured by acts of courage, i.e., pressing on, which is persistence. That way, persistence changes defeat into victory.
I have seen this time after time as I build my website. When I hit a wall with some problem or something I don't understand, I push on. Sometimes I need Site Support Help. But first I try to figure it out myself. That way I learn more. Hill says "defeat becomes an urge to great effort". That's persistence!
Edwin, I summed up your 4 steps to persistence in an equation.
Definiteness of Purpose + Burning Desire + Continuous Action + Closed to Negativity and Aligned with Support = Persistence.
You all are encouraging me to fight on!
Thanks Edwin and everyone for this opportunity.
Barbara
Hi Barbara,
I love your equation. It sums Persistence up eloquently. You seem to have cracked the code on persistence. Good for you.
Thanks for such a wonderful response that I enjoyed reading.
Cheers.
Edwin
Hi Barbara,
You certainly have the right attitude for success! Persistence, or a "Bulldog" attitude, is exactly what it takes to achieve your goals.
The fact that you continue to make a significant contribution to this platform and this study group as well as your willingness to try and solve a problem yourself first shows not only your persistence but your resourcefulness as well!
Susan
Thank you for the encouragement! I really needed that today. I'm not feeling well and you just gave me some "good medicine"! 💖Barbara
Well, I found it this time!
I have been reading my affirmation morning and night since I wrote it. It lives on my bedside stand, right by the lamp, so I see it right away.
Persistence is something I'm pretty good at. Learned it from my cat. In fact, it had a good test recently. I asked a successful member to review my sites and give suggestions.
He told me to focus on my cat site and drop my MMO site. He said there is too much competition; listed things I would need to change on the site.
Did I drop the site? No. I implemented his suggestions as best I could. He gave a strong critique of my reviews, having read the last one I wrote. He sent examples of better ones. I learned a great deal from that experience; have written 3 or 4 reviews since then, besides rewriting the one he critiqued, and I know that his criticism really helped me improve my reviews.
I refuse to believe I cannot succeed at my MMO site. I will persevere until it does succeed or I am no longer on the planet. I do want success from that website!
The book is helping, Edwin, even though I've read it before. It is good to read it when we are in the middle of learning how to build successfully. Thanks for this project...you are appreciated.
Hi Fran,
Heartwarming to read your response. You are definitely persistent. It took me one week to write mu last post that I published yesterday.I need to do more posts a week. At least two.
Thanks for commenting.
Edwin
I do a post in each of my sites every four days, which means I write at least two a week. Now am attempting to add an extra one in my MMO site. Challenging!
Hi Fran,
It is only a person of strong character than is 1) willing to ask for a critique and 2) be willing to accept that critique and then 3) use that information to make needed improvements.
I am greatly inspired by your persistence and willingness to learn new things.
I'll save my "don't give up" speech...I don't think you have any intentions of doing that any time soon!
Susan
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Hi,
It has been a few hectic weeks for me because of going back to my day job after the lockdown due pandemic) , so had to do some catching up to do in reading, anyway here is my take on this chapter:
It all boils down to that being persistent is having the power of will and success in the desire of having monetary wealth.
Often I see people give up to quick ,even within WA, because things go their way. Maybe "their" way is not the way?
A quote from Vince Lombardi comes into mind : Winners never quit and quitters never win.
In this chapter a list of symptoms of lack of persistence and a how to develop persistence is provided ,while I won't reproduce this here(but you all should read) I have to admit ,I sometimes (well more than I want am "victim" of procrastination but working on it:-)
All the best,
Luc