The good news is that you can learn this in one minute.
I’ve summarized my life experiences into three main points that highlight why perseverance is the single most important character trait for you to develop.
Perseverance leads to mastery
A sustained effort over time will typically lead to mastery.
When I first started writing, a few of my friends laughed at my books. Rightfully so. It was full of typos, had terrible grammar and pretty mundane content. None of it was spectacular.
The perfect word to describe it: Mediocre.
And the book sales reflected that.
People will often ask, “How did you manage to get published?”
The answer is simple: Perseverance.
I spent two years writing a book, 318 Quora posts and 30 editorial pitches before I got published.
Even after this momentum, the website I just launched was slow in gaining subscribers. For example, in about two months I had only signed up around 520 subscribers. However, after those two months of churning out weekly articles, last night I had a breakthrough of 64 subscribers in just one night!
Over time my writing has improved dramatically. My writing volume has also increased. It used to take me a few days to write an article. Now I can write a short article in an hour, and the quality is better.
This all happened because I stayed the course.
So when in doubt, always remember: persevere.
Be useful for life … it makes you mentally stronger
I’ve failed a lot.
One of my first jobs, when I was in high school, was working as a salesperson at a tuxedo shop. A few months in, I missed one of my shifts and was fired. I was really upset with myself.
I once tried to be a professional actor and met with an agent. She told me to find another career.
I once tried to be a professional writer. My first book was called “Digital Marketing.” I think I sold a few Kindle copies. Mostly to family and friends. It was a long time ago.
I guess I could have quit writing. But why do that when it’s my passion? Better to learn from my mistakes and to keep improving.
Each of these experiences helped to shape me into who I am today.
Don’t spend time regretting your past. Do focus your energy on pushing forward.
Useful life example.
It teaches patience
Success isn’t built overnight. It’s built over many nights. Sometimes years. That’s why you’ve got to be patient.
This doesn’t mean you don’t create and build with passion and intensity. You want that. But if you don’t have patience, you might end up giving up at a time when you’re just inches from success.
If you see meaningful progress and continued improvement, then it may make sense to continue to persevere.
When I first started writing the “Digital Marketing,” I thought it would take a few months to finish it from beginning to end.
It took me an entire year. But despite all the times I got writer’s block or got a huge headache from proofreading the book, I never quit.
It’s the book I’m most proud of. And it was worth every minute.
Creating something worthwhile isn’t easy. Be patient.
Be useful for life … learning to give awesome compliments
How easy do you find it to pay great compliments? An authentic compliment. Difficult for you? Seemingly a common thing, right? But difficult to do uncommonly well, don’t you agree?
As a leader or even as a peer, great compliments have never been more critically important than today. Not because they are expected, but to help in team motivation and engagement. While everyone is wrapped up in their performance, people hardly take the time to recognize the work of others.
Whether you’re dealing with bosses, subordinates or peers, a well-placed compliment will make you valuable, noteworthy and better suited for leadership.
Why compliments?
When you recognize people’s skills and achievements, it makes you seem more selfless. Your attention to detail is appreciated. And if you believe what some scientific studies have to say on the subject, people who pay others compliments are seen as smarter. And more humble … a critical leadership quality.
Be specific
Understand what motivates people you work with and focus on paying compliments that will give attention to those things. For a business leader, it may be addressing and inspiring a crowd of subordinates. For a secretary, it may be her knowledge of office details. Regardless, compliment them accordingly, in the most natural way possible.
Timing is essential
Compliments are all about timing. They are usually most effective immediately after someone does something they deserve praise for. It’s right after the fact that most people want to hear that they did well. Let time pass, and they will calm down, or convince themselves that they did well and didn’t need anyone else’s approval.
But the timing also involves calibrating someone’s mood. If you see a co-worker in a slump, a well-placed compliment might motivate him and remind him that what he does is significant.
Useful life formula.
Be useful for life … get physical and mental exercise
… every single day. Yes, every single day.
Read and exercise for at least 15 – 20 minutes a day. It’s life-changing, and the body/mind needs it to function at the highest level!
You’ll feel much better mentally and physically almost instantly. The more consistent you are with it, the better and more consistent your life will become in almost every way.
Seriously, it’s very simple. Try it out. Make it a daily habit. You won’t regret it. 🙂Share
Be useful for life … better critical thinking
One obstacle to good critical thinking is our penchant for commitment and consistency. Once we’re on record expressing confidence in an idea, we have trouble changing our minds.
Here’s a tip that will make you a better critical-thinker and conversation partner.
Whenever you want to say “I know such and such” or “I believe such and such” or even, “I think such and such,” instead of saying, “one possibility is such and such, and here’s some evidence . . .”
It’s tough to catch yourself mid-sentence when speaking, so start with your writing instead.
This substitution does at least three good things:
It keeps you from backing yourself into a corner. It’s much easier to change your mind if you’ve merely presented a possibility. It’s more difficult if you’ve expressed commitment to the idea.
It makes you consider what your evidence is. More than once I’ve made this substitution and realized I didn’t have very good evidence for my claim.
It helps to create dialogue instead of a debate. A dialogue is a cooperative venture where the conversation partners explore claims and evidence together. A debate is a competitive venture where, in the name of achieving victory, each side ignores the evidence on the other side as best it can. For more on dialogue debate: 5 Communication Skills that Open People’s Minds
Be useful for life … a perfect handshake
Geoffrey Beartie, head of psychological sciences at the University of Manchester, came up with a formula for this:
If you weren’t a math major, here is the translation of this equation in plain English:
Make eye contact throughout.
Utter an appropriate verbal greeting.
Make a Duchenne smile.
Grip the person’s hand and give it a firm squeeze.
Stand a moderate distance from the other person: not so close as to make him/her uncomfortable or so far away as to make him/her feel detached.
Make sure your hand is cool, dry, and smooth.
Use a medium level of vigor.
Hold the handshake for no longer than two to three seconds.
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Call Mike at 607-725-8240.
All you get is what you bring to the fight. And that fight gets better every day you learn and apply new ideas.
When things are not what you want them to be, what’s most important is your next step. Call today.
Test. Learn. Improve. Repeat.
Are you devoting enough energy continually improving your continuous learning?
Digital Spark Marketing will stretch your thinking and your ability to adapt to change. We also provide some fun and inspiration along the way. Call us for a free quote today. You will be amazed at how reasonable we will be.
More reading on learning from Digital Spark Marketing’s Library:
Mike Schoultz is a digital marketing and customer service expert. With 48 years of business experience, he consults on and writes about topics to help improve the performance of a small business. Find him on G+, Facebook, Twitter, Digital Spark Marketing, and LinkedIn.
