The Power of Persistence

Persistence is the ability to look at incoming information, evaluate it, and either discard it or use it to your advantage. In life, you can't control the outcome but you can control the income. You can control what you do with incoming data. You can change your attitude. You can strengthen your faith. You can fail and fail again, and make smarter decisions each time to start once more. There will always be setbacks and difficulties; you can't stop them from happening. They're part of life. But you can stop them from stopping you.

Persistence means going after your goal with laser-beam focus. Every single action you take is done with precision and purpose. When you give your word, you keep it. When you make promises, you focus on delivering. When you see an opportunity, you go for it. Of course, this is not as easy as it sounds. We all have doubts.

We all have times when we say, "Is it really worth my time and effort to keep going in this direction?" It's not a bad thing to ask questions—you may find that you need to shift your focus somewhat, or try another path. Persistence doesn't mean that you stick to your vision blindly. It means that you consider all paths and keep trying until you find the right one.

Getting things done when there is a lot at stake is difficult. You have to weigh every option: are you going to concentrate your time and effort in this direction, or are you going to move on? If your decision is to keep going, then you have to know that failure is not an option.

Getting through and getting things done can become a way of life, whether it's doing a report, starting a fitness program, getting a job, landing a deal, or starting a company. It's a process that sometimes calls for aggressive persistence and other times calls for quiet confidence. The combination of both will keep you constantly moving forward.

There are no secrets to success: Don't waste time looking for them. Success is the result of perfection, hard work, learning from failure, loyalty to those for whom you work, and persistence.

—Colin Powell,
U.S. Secretary of State