4 Steps to Develop Persistence – Master Your Life!

Master Your Life


Your goal will not come from the first try. It rarely happens like that. The success comes after you master a HABIT of persistence. This habit will carry you to the top every time, no doubt! 

 

Take a look at those big letters.

Stop and think about the word habit, please.

What does it represent to you?

You see, if you want to change something wrong in your life for something good, you’ll have to start by changing some habits.

One of the most potent habits in life, especially in achieving your goals, is a habit of persistence.

You see, everything you do in your life, you do out of a habit.

Failure comes from a habit of thinking about it. Success comes the same way.

I have found a simple four-step formula that will help you to overcome many bad habits in your life and replace them with a bunch of patterns that guarantee success.

These four steps come from one of the most excellent personal development books of all time,  Napoleon Hill’s “Think and Grow Rich.” 

Hill spent 25 years of his life working with and studying some of the most influential minds of his time such as Henry Ford and Thomas Edison.

He emphasizes the importance of persistence if you are about to achieve any goal in your life.

He said that he didn’t found any other quality in those two men to explain significant success, except persistence.

Next four steps are exact footsteps used by Ford, Edison, Carnegie, and every other man or woman who succeeded in life having nothing but a goal and his persistence to achieve it.

Wanna do the same?

 

1. Set a Goal!

What do you want the most?

What is your Mount Everest?

Answer this question now. No one is looking.

Your task in this first step is to think about what it is that you want to achieve the most in your life.

It may take some time to figure it out. However, I bet you’ll find your answer as long as you stay persistent in asking yourself those two question from above.

At this point, you can decide your whole future.

If you know what it is you want, please proceed.

If, however, you can’t decide, here is material about how to set goals.

Read this post. Then, once you know what it is you want the most, please come back to finish this one.

It is your first test in developing persistence. You better ace it.

If you are ready, let’s continue.

You will have to take your goal and putt it in writing.

To understand how this small piece of action can change your life, take a look at this and be back to finish what you’ve started here.

I wrote that I want to be free and work for me. That was one of my significant wants in life.

Guess what happened?

You’ve guessed it right!

Write it down and carry that paper wherever you go. Look at it every chance you get. Close your eyes if you dare and try to visualize your goals as already in your hands.

If you follow the instructions, you will succeed.

Now, let’s see what else we have to do to keep this new habit growing.

 

2. Any Kind of a Plan is Better Than No Plan!

A plan is not something only specialists know how to forge.

Hell no!

A plan can be, and it usually is, a simple straight line which connects A and B. In other words, it takes you from the place where you are to the point where you want to be.

A plan is a thing you’re going to do to achieve your goal. Simple as that.

That line will be straight in the beginning.

Then it will start to get curvy as you go further.

However, keep in mind that success is never a straight line. The road gets bumpy from time to time.

When it gets rocky, that is the moment where your persistence comes to test.

At those moments of hardship, you have a golden, one of a kind opportunity to shape your metal.

The worst thing that can happen is to fall on the ground.

On the bright side, take a look at the floor, the ground is not so far away. It means that your fall won’t be so hard. Get up, dust yourself off, and keep moving up.

Let me give you a quick example so you can have a picture to work with.

I became a lazy bastard at one point in my life.

My goal was to stop being chips eating, beer drinking, video game addict.

A definite plan for acquiring my goal was simple. Every day, after work I went straight to the gym and worked on those weights.

At some days I found it to be easy, almost effortless.

Some other times it was hard to move a muscle. The lazy man on my shoulder was telling me to sit back and do nothing about it.

On those days when that bastard was loud, I was looking for ways and means to continue.

The best way I’ve found was to move my ass and lift those weights!

Therefore, you don’t have to have a plan worked out on ten pages or so.

All you have to know where are you going, what are you going to do to get there, and do it every single day.

No exceptions!

 

3. Close Your Mind!

In other words, shut off the inflow of people who will resonate with your old habits!

Explain to them that you are busy. If those people are your friends, they will understand.

The worst thing that can happen is you’ll ditch them and find some new people who are persistent with their goals.

Persistence is a hard mental skill to learn. Don’t neglect this step.

You will have to train your mind to think positive about your goal all the time.

Keep reminding yourself every single day that you are doing something right and that nothing and no one can stop you from achieving your goal.

If you are a good student, you will have your goal written on a piece of paper.

Here is one of the reasons why.

Every time something or someone who is not in harmony with your goal is trying to ‘take you away’ you’ll have your goal card in your pocket to keep your focus straight.

Use your phone for this matter.

Or put a particular coin in your pocket.

Do anything you must do to keep your mind focused!

The focused mind will develop persistence.

 

4. Find a Partner

I had my younger bro with me to make fun of me on days when I wasn’t feeling like working out.

Find a friend, a girlfriend, a boyfriend, anyone for this matter who will understand that you are about to do something which is life-changing.

If you can’t think of anyone to give you a hand, hire a coach.

To create a habit of persistence, you’ll have to take every help along the way.

No man can do anything by himself. Every man can do wonders when he joins forces with like-minded people.

Why do you think we say that strength is in numbers?

Jordan wouldn’t be able to win two championships and not six if he hasn’t had Pippen with him.

Schumacher had Barrichello to push him faster.

I’m a sports fan, so I can give you countless examples of teams who conquered the world by creating a habit of persistence.

If something is not bright, here is a summary of a formula.

Repeat this process over and over, and in no time you will be master of persistence.

Mount Everest will seem like a hilltop to you.

Summary of the four steps:

  1. Set a Goal Now!
  2. Any Kind of a Plan is Better Than No Plan!
  3. Shut Up Everyone Else Around You!
  4. Find a Partner, a Goal Buddy.

 

Great Examples of Persistence

Before I leave you, I want to give you three examples which had the most significant impact on my mind.

These examples had helped me to realize that nothing can substitute this golden habit.

 

Edison’s Example

The first one was dated back in 1879. That was the year when Edison patented the first commercially successful light bulb.

Many people before Edison had experimented with this invention but without success. However, unlike those men, he had a definite goal. He had a clear vision to perfect this invention and distribute it to every household in the world!

Edisons plan was simple.

He decided to work on his invention every single day until he finds a solution on how to make the cheap light bulb.

Now, he didn’t succeed overnight, no. Times and time he failed. Many people were telling him to leave it alone, that his idea is unrealistic, that he is wasting his time.

However, Edison was not listening to them.

Norman V. Peale, the famous author and a father of positive thinking was a close friend to the Edison family.

He wrote in one of his books that Mrs. Edison was the only person who believed in his invention when no one did. She was his close ally — a goal buddy.

Finally, Edison succeeded after 10 000 failures! And the light bulb was born.

When a reporter asked him “how does it feel to fail 10 000 times?”, Edison replied “I didn’t fail 10 000 times. It took 10 000 steps to create a light bulb.”

Are you willing to fail 10 000 times before you reach your goal?

 

Schwartzennegger’s Example

When Arnold was a kid, he had a wish to become a bodybuilding champion of the world and the highest paid action movie star.

He was living in Austria. He had nothing to start with except his clear vision and a burning desire to bring his goals to life.

Arnold backed his goals with desire and a plan to work like crazy and to outwork his competition. We all know he did.

However, it was not an easy task for him either. He had to develop persistence to succeed.

After years and years of hard work, his bodybuilding goal came to life. But when he continued to pursue the second part of his dream, that is to become an action movie star; things were far from easy.

People from the movie business were ridiculing him at every step of the way. Agents told him he would never make it, that he has a too large body which doesn’t fit into the movies.

They said to him that he would never make it with his accent and last name, Schwartzer-schnitzel.

Arnold was not listening to them.

He closed his mind so tightly against all negative influences. Moreover, he surrounded himself with people who were willing to help him learn how to act and correct his accent.

He was persistent in carrying his plan until finally, he got his first big break. A role in the movie “Conan The Barbarian.”

Everything after that is history.

The persistence paid off in dividends.

Are you willing to stand behind your goal no matter how much ridiculed you will be?

 

Hill’s Example

When young reporter sat down to interview the worlds wealthiest man, Andrew Carnegie, he didn’t have a clue that this event will alter the course of his life forever.

Carnegie proposed Napoleon Hill to compose a complete success philosophy which will help change millions of lives, some still unborn.

At that moment, the young reporter had nothing except a will to do it. He told Carnegie yes he would do it. However, he said to him also that he has nothing except his will: no money, no experience, no knowledge.

Carnegie told him that all he needs is a clear purpose and faith.

Hill listened to him and went to work risking his whole future and life to fulfill his goal.

People told him that he is nuts, but he was not listening. They said he would go broke, but he was not listening to them either.

A whole army of negative voices turned against the young man and a dream that Carnegie gave him. However, he closed his mind tightly.

Twenty-five years later, the year was 1937, “Think and Grow Rich” was published.

Still today, this book is a Bible between all other success philosophies.

Are you willing to be patient and persistent for twenty-five years to see your goal materialized?

If you ever need a hand or have any questions, feel free to leave them below, and I will be more than happy to help you out.

All the best,

Ivan

yourpersonaldevelopment.org

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2 thoughts on “4 Steps to Develop Persistence – Master Your Life!”

  1. Hey!
    I really enjoyed reading this article! Persistence is the key to success!
    And I liked the story of Edisons! I’m starting to use this way of thinking too “I didn’t fail 10 000 times. It took 10 000 steps to create a light bulb.” Not failing, just taking steps to my success. Thank you for this great post 🙂

    Reply

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