God bless George de Mestral, the inventor of Velcro. Because, I can’t seem to tie a knot that stays knotted. In 2005 I traveled to Europe with my family and every five minutes it seemed, I was stopping to tie my laces. Since then I travel with Velcro walking shoes and accept my inadequacy—until my four-year-old niece, Nia, challenged me.
As she dressed one morning, she asked her mom to tie one shoe and me to tie the other. I told her that I couldn’t and her mommy would do it. She asked me why I couldn’t. I told her that I just don’t know how. Then she looked at me and said, “You have to keep trying. Remember your Grandma told you.” True to her word, she refused to let her mother tie both her shoes. She looked me in my eyes, put her little foot on my lap and repeated, “Breathe in…breathe out! You have to keep trying!”
With something as simple as shoelaces, she reminded me that regardless of how many tools we place in our success kit, it is incomplete without perseverance. We live in an age of super speed and convenience. But even though patience—the very thread of perseverance—is a lost art, it is still a necessity.
Life can feel unbearable and be filled with disappointment. Careers move slower than anticipated, businesses fail and relationships can get so far off track we feel as if our soul mate is a stranger. Living without plans and unrealistic expectations, we make the mistake of:
1. Moving too fast, too soon: There are times when we must take the risk without overthinking things…but those moments are rare. More often than not, we move too fast because we are competing against others. Speed doesn’t guarantee that you will win the race. In fact, in longer races speed must be coupled with endurance to ensure success. Otherwise, you lose steam too quickly. Don’t look at other people or put your life on someone else’s time clock. It is important that you set goals that you can measure…and give yourself enough time to get there with your family, health, integrity and sanity in tact. Pace yourself as you work towards your goals.
2. Being strong and wrong: Strength that isn’t tempered by endurance is limited. Getting injured is a part of the process and if all we rely on is our strength, we will be sidelined when it fails. The most important things to build are your spirit and mind. Developing yourself in this area will ensure that you have what it takes to survive the times you get hurt. We must know how to recover from difficult times.
3. A fame mentality, not a farmer mentality: Success looks good on the outside. It’s pretty and glamorous. But beneath success lies the pain and discipline of hard work and often the heartbreak of failure and disappointment. We can get so focused on the “pretty” that we neglect to prepare for the work that goes into making dreams happen. Harvests don’t come by throwing seeds on the ground and waiting to see what happens. A harvest is the result of planting, watering and pruning.
Too often we give up just before the “it” happens, because we grow weary. We give up because the other times didn’t work out. But that doesn’t matters—we must endure!
Do Your Work! Sit down and plan. What is it going to take to rescue your marriage, your finances or your business? Working without a plan is one of the primary reasons we fail at any endeavor. If you’re interested in moving forward with momentum through coaching, click HERE to see if you qualify for a FREE 30-minute consultation. Only 10 spaces available this month.
Define Your Wealth! Every day affirm, “I have what it takes to win, to overcome and endure!”
Recently named the “North America’s Next Greatest Speaker” by eWomenNetwork, Coach Felicia is a Certified Executive Coach who empowers her clients to “Turn their Worth into Wealth” as she partners with them to DISCOVER their WORTH, DO their WORK and DEFINE their WEALTH. Get more insight, download the FREE “8 Choices Winners Must Make!” seminar MP3 at www.coachfelicia.com!
