On Persistence

At the tender age of 21 I worked as a cocktail waitress, then bartender, at a local dive in my hometown of Las Vegas.

The things I’ve seen there could fill a blog post and would both fascinate and revolt you – but one of the most interesting oddities I would persistently encounter night after night was the persistent sleaze bag.

You’ve seen this guy at bars, nightclubs and dives. He’s the one that comes in at ten and talks to every female.

Me and my regulars would take bets on how long it would take and laugh at the untoward things he’d try to get a woman to go home with him. But the not-so-funny truth about the situation was 9 times out of 10 he’d win… that’s a better batting average than the baddest Major league slugger.

So what was it, these guys were always gross – they had no game – and any woman with half a brain could see that he was using the same routine on everyone regardless of age, race or affiliation.

The golden goose

Yes, persistence can also be used for evil, or in this case just plain gross. This guy wasn’t better, brighter or more charming than the rest (he’d usually be quite lacking) but he had found the goose that laid the golden “laid” egg… and it’s name was persistence.

The funny thing my experiences at “the lodge” taught me about persistence was that if this creep could use it’s powers for evil, why couldn’t I use it for good?

Persistence is what has driven me since I walked from behind the bar years ago and it’s been what has kept me going through tough and tougher. Persistence is what drives me and the team at Zirtual to make it a great company.

Persistence’s exponential growth rate

Persistence is what kept me writing long before anyone actually read this blog and persistence is what pays off in spades as time goes on. I’ve noticed persistence’s exponential growth in my life, both business and personal and it’s absolutely amazing… but hard, at first. Persistence gets easier with time.

If you only remember one quote, ever, remember this one:

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 always will solve the problems of the human race.  - Calvin Coolidge

Now ask yourself how you can persist in the coming week. Have you ever persisted through good times and bad, or do you normally give up? Like Coolidge said, persistence really is the difference between success and failure.