There is really not much difference between success and failure. If you read or listen to most success stories, you will find the real difference is just persistence. Persistence is one attribute that separates failure from success. If we can develop tenacity and persistence, then nothing can stand in the way of fulfilling our dreams. For some, these qualities come more easily than for others. If you look at the lives of successful people, you will find they all possess a strong desire or purpose. Napoleon Hill said, “The starting point for all achievement is desire.” Nothing worth achieving comes easy.
Life will always have obstacles and adversity. Having a sense of purpose will keep us going when adversity gets in our way. Our purpose powers persistence. Business consultant Paul Stoltz did a study on what it takes to persist through adversity and this is what he summarized:
Identifying your mountain, your purpose in life, so that the work you do in life is meaningful. I ran into people every day who are basically climbing the wrong mountain. People who have spent 20 years or more of their lives doing something that has no purpose for them. Suddenly they look back and go, “What have I been doing?”
So if tenacity and persistence are critical for success, how do we develop these qualities? What if we don’t possess a strong desire or feel we have a life purpose? How do we find it? I was actually asked this question by a person who had a secure job and really couldn’t find any motivation to get out of the rut he seemed to be in. He just went to work and lived a average life and at the same time, he felt there had to be more to life. Without a sense of purpose, life gets pretty mundane and boring. Do you have a strong purpose or why in life? If not, how do you develop a strong sense of purpose?
Think about your purpose in life over the weekend and Monday we’ll talk about some ways to help fire up a sense of desire and purpose.
Have an awesome weekend.
