Persistence Gave Me Everything I Asked For

“Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts.

Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan “press on” has solved and will always solve the problems of the human race.”

These words were attributed to former U.S. President, Calvin Coolidge.

Forgive me for sounding arrogant but due to recent accomplishments in my life, I feel like I am the poster child for this edifying and reassuring quote. Because yes, I have considered myself talented, I’ve had moments of genius and I am educated. But those things were never enough.

The thought that talent, genius, education, novelty, love, service, appeals to authority and even money were not enough to change the tide of my fortunes has demoralized me more times than I would care to share.

Maybe if you meet me in real life I could come up with a number or a duration.

However, if success is when opportunity meets preparation, one must be persistent in their craft, task and trade. Nothing else will do.

I was writing before anyone chose to read it, and that was years before anyone paid me. I loved for what felt like years before who or what I loved returned the affection. I studied prior to the need to implement what I had learned. I just wanted to be prepared because I knew life would throw some trick shots my way.

And I’ll admit, some of these shots I couldn’t handle. But because I already developed an inner culture of persistence I didn’t run away. I couldn’t. It didn’t matter if it took years to master, if I had breath, I had time.

I’ll also concede that sometimes you have to walk away, otherwise depression will set in. Depression is the result of action being nullified by futility. It feels as though life isn’t supporting you. Shame comes up, guilt comes up. They choke out the vital life force, leaving you to believe you are powerless.

It is at this point that you must concede to what life is showing you, not what you think life is showing you. When we fail, we think life is telling us that either we don’t deserve what we want or that we don’t deserve to be alive.

What life is actually telling you is that you don’t deserve this yet, or you deserve something else, or you deserve better.

Futility is a factor of life. To ignore it will be to our own detriment. We must accept that some things and people will never change because they are not in our power to change. Therefore, the only thing to do is to accept what you can change in order to be free from the pain of resistance and resentment.

That liberates you back into action, but you might ask yourself, what’s the point? If there are things that cannot be moved by my power, even though I have talent, genius, education, etc., what’s the point?

Morgan Housel, the author of The Psychology of Money, explains why:

“If you view ‘do what you love’ as a guide to a happier life, it sounds like empty fortune cookie advice. If you view it as the thing providing the endurance necessary to put the quantifiable odds of success in your favor, you realize it should be the most important part of any financial strategy.”

And I would add, it should be the most important part of any life strategy. Who do you love? What do you love to do? Where would you love to be? If the answers to these questions are guiding you and you are persistent in these, you are setting yourself up for pretty great experiences and a pretty great life.

The symbols of success such as money, sex and stuff can be tantalizing. But if they aren’t tied to the things you actually value and aren’t intrinsically meaningful to you, you’re setting yourself up for average and forgettable experiences in an average and forgettable life.

In other words, if you don’t have a purpose in life, you are in danger of leading a life of regret.

The quote attributed to Coolidge was actually abridged from a quote from Reverend Theodore Thornton Munger in his book, On the Threshold, which was to help young people as they entered adulthood.

Here’s what it said:

“A purpose is the eternal condition of success. Nothing will take its place. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men of talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is a proverb…

The chance of events, the push of circumstances, will not. The natural unfolding of faculties will not. Education will not; the country is full of unsuccessful educated men; indeed, it is a problem of society what to do with the young men it is turning out of its colleges and professional schools. There is no road to success but through a clear, strong purpose.”

If persistence gave me everything I asked for, purpose was what instructed me on what to ask for, what to strive for and what to do with myself. My purpose is simple: to entertain and educate.

If there was anything I would do different it would be to not become distracted by everyone accumulating the symbols of success and instead focus on the things that actually matter to me.

I would also remind myself that the more I get angry at the world for not acknowledging me or acknowledging me enough, that as great as that would be, there is something bigger than me at play here.

I am merely playing my role for the principles, ideas, activities, values and people that I care about. I didn’t make myself care about these things. Life did that. Life took care of that. And I’m happy to be a servant of life because that’s just about the best role anyone could ever have.

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This post was previously published on MEDIUM.COM.

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