Great success comes after great persistence

When I was younger I dreamed of achieving great things but when it came to actually doing what it takes to achieve great things I wasn’t ready. I wanted what I wanted and I wanted it now. Of course that was not going to happen. But I quickly learnt that anything worth achieving was going to take time ,effort and a lot of change on my part. Almost 30 years on I am still learning each day but I understand the power of persistence now more than ever before. 

My mentor and friend Lisa Illingworth has just launched an online platform with her forward thinking company FutureProofSA. Her accomplishments are phenomenal and inspiring to see but I am reminded of the hard work, time and persistence that she had to put in to get to this point.

We see the results, the success and we revel in the celebration but what about all the tough times, late nights, moments of frustration and doubt? What about the obstacles and days feeling overwhelmed, frustrated or unsure? We never see those and yet we are happy to share in the celebration. This is also true of our athletes who we admire so much. We quickly forget the hard work they put in to become the people we admire.

I have learnt that things will take time. I will take time. I have to learn and grow and become the person I need to be in order to achieve the things I want to achieve. So I ask you, who do you need to become in order to achieve your goals? Do your goals scare you enough because you know you will need to change? If not, then perhaps you are setting your sights too low. You have the potential to do the extraordinary, but it is going to require exactly that, the extraordinary.

I admire people for the hard work they have put in and for the persistence, dedication and the many tears along the way because I know how tough it is to accomplish great things and that the celebration in the end is only a small part of the true victory.

 The next time you are ready to give up… PERSIST. Run one more kilometer, call one more prospect, study one more chapter.. keep going and never stop. Persistence is true success.