Perseverance!

Perseverance!

"I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work."

—Thomas A. Edison, on inventing the light bulb

These are words to live by and tie into what I had discussed earlier about conviction.  I'm not sure if I shared this following story before but even if I did, I believe it is well worth repeating.  It is an excellent example of how perseverance along with conviction would have made someones dreams come true.

During the gold rush, a prospector staked a claim on a piece of property that he felt had a large amount of gold buried on it.  He started digging and found various bits and pieces but nothing very significant.  He invested every bit of money he earned to buy equipment to dig his mine.  After years of digging the prospector started growing weary of his claim.  A man visited him one day with a proposal to buy his claim and all his equipment.  The prospector thought for a moment about all the years of hard work he had put into his mine but thought this was a way to recoup his lost money.  The prospector took the money joyfully thinking that this poor guy will find nothing as well.  Now the man that bought the claim had no intention of digging himself, in fact he hired a geologist to study the land.  He was very pleased when the results came back.  It seems that if the prospector would have stuck it out and dug about another 3 feet, he would have hit one of the largest veins of gold ever found.

So you see, perseverance pays off.  If Thomas Edison would have given up inventing, many of the great inventions that revolutionized our world today may not exist or may have taken many more years to be discovered.  Think about the light bulb, telephone, phonograph and even motion pictures all were invented because someone believed that it could exist.  In this day and age we tend to take for granted the modern conveniences we have.  Just visit a country that doesn't offer the electric, transportation or even the clean water that many of us enjoy today.  You will see how the perseverance and conviction of many great people in history has helped to mold the world in which we live in. 

If you are facing challenging times and are about to give up, don't!  Your salvation may be just around the corner.  I have been tested during these financially tough times.  I believe through my constant perseverance I will come out ahead and with that I want you to be able to say the same thing.  I realize that my definition of success is a little different from what many believe.  This brings to mind another topic I will share with you in the future about the concept of money and what it represents.  I have recently read some information that opened my eyes about the way I think and feel about money.  I have come to a part of my life where it is make it or break it.  The pinnacle of a new beginning of financial freedom.  To have one of the biggest debts payed for in full.  To be down to counting the months left until that fateful last payment is sent out.  To finally be on a cash for everything basis.  Now that is a success in my mind.  I have followed programs, guru's and advice from so many on how to handle a situation that came out of nowhere like a landslide.  Just to emphasize the point I have included an excellent version of Stevie Nicks singing "Landslide".





Remember not to let the landslide bring you down.  Perseverance will prevail.