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"Never Give Up... Again and Again"
By Ralph Moore
How many times during the course of the "average" work day
have you said "Now that wasn't supposed to happen...",
or words to that effect, when something goes wrong?
I don't know about you, but it seems that all too often,
just when I think I'm about to conquer my little corner
of the world [again]... something bad happens.
Usually something completely unexpected, and almost always
something that derails me from my destination. Sometimes
it's the little things that make me want to pull out by
the roots, what's left of my already thinning hair. At times
like these it's tempting to just "give up".
That's when I sometimes remember a certain gentleman that
had his share of failures before ultimately succeeding in a
very big way. Certainly you may recall this bit of history,
but it bears repeating here.
In 1832, he lost his job, and was defeated for state
legislature.
In 1833, he failed in business.
In 1834, he was elected to the Illinois state legislature
In 1835, his sweetheart died.
In 1836, he had a nervous breakdown.
In 1838, he was defeated in the race for House Speaker.
In 1843, he was defeated for nomination for Congress.
In 1846, he was elected to Congress.
In 1848, he lost the renomination to Congress.
In 1849, he was rejected for a land officer job.
In 1854, he was defeated in a bid for the U.S. Senate.
In 1856, he was defeated for Vice President of the U.S.
In 1858, he was defeated, once again, for U.S. Senate.
In 1860, he was elected President of the United States.
The man, of course, was Abraham Lincoln.
Even after many failures, old "Honest Abe" never gave up.
By being persistent and maintaining a can-do attitude he
eventually reached the highest office in the land.
The point of all of this is that such is the attitude that
you must bring to bear, in order to succeed in your business,
as well as in other areas of life. It is always easier to
"give up".
Sure, bad things happen all of the time. But if you think
about it, do you really want to settle for second best?
I am also reminded of one of the greatest athletes of all
time. In the late 1960's and early 1970's there lived a
young man who, by most accounts, was the greatest
middle-distance runner in the history of the United States.
Steve Prefontaine never settled for second place. This
incredible runner set records in the 2 mile, 3 mile,
6 mile, 2,000 meter, 5,000 meter, and 10,000 meter races...
and that was just from 1973 to 1974.
Here was a runner who ran a consistent 4-minute mile,
whether it was one, two or three miles at a time!
The following quotes from Steve Prefontaine show the
heart of a competitor, someone who never gave up.
"To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice
the gift."
"A lot of people run a race to see who's the fastest.
I run to see who has the most guts."
"What I want is to be number one."
"Somebody may beat me, but they are going to have to bleed
to do it." -- Steve Prefontaine
Wow... What an attitude! Never give up. Never settle for
second best. Do the best in all that you do.
So, remember, when something goes wrong and steers you
away from the path that you were on, get up and get going.
It isn't the end of the world. [Heck it's probably not
even the end of the day.]
If we harness even a fraction of the attitude that can
be seen in the lives of these two great men, surely we will
reach our goals and be successful in our businesses...
and in our lives!
Ralph Moore is the editor of the FREE Eagle Flyer Newsletter,
which offers "How To Technology and Tips That Can Multiply
Your Business Online". To subscribe to the Eagle Flyer and
receive a FREE report, visit: Eagle Flyer
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