We all love great leaders, inventors, scientists, scholars, athletes, sportsmen, doctors, musicians, actors and actresses etc. who were successful. But do you know why they were successful? They never gave up but persisted until they were successful. Perseverance is being persistent in doing something despite the setbacks, difficulties or delay in realizing your target.
Ask me about any successful person you know and I will tell you that their story of successes or achievements is incomplete without perseverance.
Some of our great leaders of our time including Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King Jnr, Mother Teresa and Winston Churchill just to mention a few all persevered and endured difficulties of all kinds before becoming successful.
Imagine being imprisoned like Nelson Mandela (1918-2013) for 27 years just because he wanted freedom for his people in South Africa. Mandela who was the main architect of the struggle against anti-apartheid movements in South Africa persisted in his struggle for independence by serving a lengthy prison sentence which instead of demotivating him rather encouraged him to be resolute in fighting for independence and equality for all South Africans, whether black or white.
Mother Teresa, a Catholic Nun dedicated her life by helping the poorest of the poor in the city of Calcutta in India to get the needed support. She was relentless and persistent in her quest to support the vulnerable in the society. Due to her untiring efforts, Mother Teresa (1910 – 1997) is regarded as one of the greatest humanitarians of the 20th century and won many awards including the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979. Her personal example still serves as the model for the Missionaries of Charity which supports the vulnerable in many parts of the world.
In the archives of politics, business and inventions, we cannot forget Bill Gates (Microsoft Inventor), Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak (Apple Founders), Barack Obama (First Black USA President), Larry Page and Sergey Brin (Google Inventors), Jack Ma (Alibaba Founder), Richard Branson (Virgin Founder) and Oprah Winfrey (Media Proprietor and Mogul) etc. one common theme for their success in their field is “perseverance”.
They kept going on and never gave up when all odds were against them. Even in disappointments and failures, they never gave up – they kept on keeping on until they were successful. If you listen to the story or history of any successful person in the world, the word “perseverance” will always be part.
The success story of Barack Obama to become the first African American President in 2008 cannot be completed without how he persevered and kept going against all the odds against him. In 2016, during the USA presidential elections, most people did not want Donald Trump to win but he persevered and kept going until he shocked Americans and all the world by winning against Hillary Clinton to become the current President of the USA.
As a student who aspires to become the best in your chosen career and professional endeavours – you need to never give up until your goals and aspirations are met. You need to be persevering by keeping on going until the target you aspire to be is realised.
According to the well-acclaimed Einstein “It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer” As a student, you need to persevere in the wake of difficult and numerous assignments, course works, quizzes all with deadlines for submissions or timelines. You need to have a mindset that believes in your own abilities to be successful. How do you do this? In every difficult situation, tell yourself “I know this is difficult but I will never give up until I am successful”.
No one was born intelligent or with wisdom, however with perseverance and constant practice you will be competent in any skill or knowledge you seek to achieve. According to Charles Spurgeon, “By perseverance the snail reached the ark”. Another popular proverb from Africa also says that “If you you’re your time you can dissect an ant to find its intestines”. Praise yourself for every little effort and step you make and keep on going until you are successful. In your modules and topics that you find difficult, do well to never give up but continue to strive hard, practice hard, revise hard until you become competent.
Whatever failures and mistakes you encounter should not let you down but rather should be taken as part of your learning and development curve until success is yours. Have self-confidence in yourself and if you need help speak to your assessors or lecturers for support. At LSME, we aim to empower you, encourage you, embolden you, endow you and emancipate you with knowledge and skills towards your journey of success in your academic and career goals that you desire and dream about.
In conclusion, we encourage you to keep going, don’t look back, keep going, tell yourself I can, I will, I must, I am capable, I will do it, I will conquer it, I will be victorious. The successful person you know all persevered before they made it and so will you. Never give up – keep going, keep going and the victory will be yours. J K Rowling, the renowned author of Harry Porter fame was rejected by more than twelve (12) publishing companies for Harry Porter Story but this lady never gave up until the book became a success in the world. Bill Gates, the world richest man and founder of Microsoft flopped many times before becoming successful with Microsoft.
The best recipe for the success of every human being especially students is “PERSEVERANCE”. We believe you can – keep going and success will be yours. Have faith and believe in yourself and don’t give up because “YOU CAN”.
Wishing you the best of week and remember to share this article with colleagues, friends and anyone who feels down, daunted, defeated, discouraged, uninspired, disheartened, dispirited, demotivated and demoralized. They should never give up but keep going.
See you again with another thought-provoking article next week. Stay blessed!