Some time ago I called a car hire company which I will not name, looking for some information I needed to do my tax returns. The agent helping me over the phone searched the system using the reference number I gave her to access my info and after a few tries simply said: "sorry ma'am we cannot help you, your information is no where to be found in our database". There it was,... I had reached a dead-end. I was so disappointed that I gave up on doing my tax filing at that moment.
A few days later, as I was wrecking my brain on how to reconcile my mileage without the vital information I needed, a thought came to me to call the same car hire company. I don't know...something in me said: "give it a shot, maybe this time you'll find what you are looking for". Sure enough, I did make the call and guess what answer I got this time? This time the agent transferred my call to some customer service department and the guy on the other side asked for my reference number and had all the info I needed emailed to me in no time! How crazy is that!
Now this whole event got me thinking a lot about persistence. We miss out on so much in life because we give up after the first "No". I truly think people who succeed in life and leave a legacy long after they are dead had to knock on a lot of doors and probably had to kick open some in order to achieve whatever they felt strongly about achieving. There are a couple of examples of unforgotten individuals I would like to mention:
Thomas Edison
The man who created the light bulb after a thousand failed attempts!
When a reporter asked him about his many failures, Edison simply said, 'It just meant that I was that many times closer to success.'
The Wright Brothers
Created the first airplane when many thought it impossible for humans to fly, after many failed attempts by well educated scientists.
"What the Wright Brothers lacked in education and financing they made up for in determination, and a single-minded devotion to the task at hand".
After several years of frustrating flight experiments they were eventually successful in flying the longest duration.
All these men were ridiculed on their journey to success but they pressed on until they saw results.
Fulfilling your destiny normally requires you to go against the current and what one should keep in mind is that our mandate in life is to be life changers rather than people pleasers.
We all have a voice inside us that keeps reminding us of how we are going to fall flat on our bellies if we try anything new. That voice that labels you a show off whenever you try anything extraordinary. I have come to discover, in my own life especially, that people who succeed in life have somehow mastered the art of silencing that negative voice within them.
My last thought to you is: Keep doing what needs to be done, even if you are made to feel crazy, awkward or stupid for it. Remember, 99 people might not appreciate it, but if it makes a difference even in one person's life, then It's worth it!
The following scripture confirms the concept of persistence:
Luke 11:5-13 New International Version (NIV) 5 Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; 6 a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.’ 7 And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’ 8 I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity[a] he will surely get up and give you as much as you need. 9 “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.10 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
Have a blessed day!
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