Persistence
by Les Brown
I
believe there are three kinds of people. There are winners, who know
what they want and understand their potential and the possibilities.
They take life on. Next are losers, who don’t have a clue as to who they
are. They allow circumstances to shape their lives and their
self-image.
I
believe there is a third group as well. This consists of potential
winners whose lives are just slightly out of alignment. I call them
wayward winners. It may be that they just need to learn how to be real
winners. Perhaps they’ve hit a bump or two that has knocked them off
course and they are temporarily befuddled. A failed relationship, a lost
job, financial problems, unformed goals, a lack of parental support,
illness…many things can send us off course temporarily.
Wayward
winners are not lost souls; they just need some tweaking and coaching
and nudging to get them back on course. A map might be nice. Many of
these wayward winners are easily identifiable because they are always
searching.
Right
now, there are many wayward winners out there braving rain, sleet and
snow because they too still believe that they have untapped talents.
They attend motivational seminars and listen to inspirational tapes and
they plunge onward, believing that sooner or later they will find their
way again.
Other
wayward winners have temporarily given up. They are damaged and
disoriented, their confidence badly eroded. They tend to drift through
life numbly. The friends and relatives and loved ones of wayward winners
see that they are out of sync and wonder why they can’t be satisfied,
why they don’t settle down. They wonder how people who have such obvious
abilities and great potential can be so disoriented and unsure.
It
is difficult for others to understand the rawness of a broken heart or
the aching emptiness of an unguided spirit. You and I know. We have been
there. Wayward winners know that there are possibilities out there, but
too often they feel locked out from them. Some are afraid to risk any
more because of what they have risked and lost already.
I
know now that as difficult as it may be for you wayward winners to do,
it is necessary to continue to test yourselves. Even though you have
been hurt before, it is the only way to grow. We all have the capacity
to change, to lead meaningful and productive lives by awakening our
consciousness.
You
know there are going to be tough times as you go about changing your
life, so brace yourself and you will be able to handle them. When you
get into your seat on an airplane, what is the first thing they tell you
to do? Fasten your seat belt. Brace yourself for the turbulence.
When
you decide to move your life to the next level of accomplishment, you
must fasten your mental and spiritual seat belts because it is going to
be a while before you reach that comfortable level again. You will reach
it, but you must endure the turbulence of change in order to grow.
Try
this technique to help you through the difficult times of change and
growth. Find four reasons why you cannot succumb to your fears and your
troubles. Find those deep sources of motivation that can lift you out of
the turbulence and above the clouds. You must change your life because,
for example:
You have not yet tapped the talents given you.
You want to leave something more for your children.
You want to live life rather than letting life live you.
You want to do what makes YOU happy.
It
is in these rocky early moments of bringing change to your life that
you discover who you are. In the prosperous times, you build what is in
your pocket. In the tough times, you strengthen what is in your heart.
And that is when you gain insight into yourself, insight that leads to
self-mastery and an expansion of your consciousness as a life-force in
both your personal and professional lives.
Les Brown
is an internationally recognized speaker and author. To receive more
information on Les’s speaking schedule, books and audiocassettes, visit http://www.yoursuccessstore and save 20%-40%.