Persistence, Persistence, Persistence

So you have figured out that this is not a blog about ball bearings. Good start. Your IQ is likely above average and you are no more likely to succeed in your own business than my toaster oven (which, by the way, is quite a good invention and I do hope the entrepreneur that invented it is making a ton of money off royalties and is sitting on a beach in Tahiti sipping pina coladas and NOT reading this blog).

Since YOU are reading this blog, perhaps you are an entrepreneur, work for an entrepreneur, are married to an entrepreneur or are a future entrepreneur. If so, you might ask yourself (or need to be reminded), what is the recipe for success and entrepreneurial genius?

According to Thomas Palmer, "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again." What he seems to be saying is that one should not give up too easily - that persistence pays off in the end. Hitting a nerve? Heard this before? Make any sense?  According to Thomas Edison, the recipe for genius is "one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration." Again, there is that pesky "persistence" concept - and from quite an entrepreneur! According to Dale Carnegie - not exactly an underachiever himself, "The quality that most frequently makes for success is flaming enthusiasm, backed up by horse sense and persistence." So why all this talk on my blog about persistence and the drive for success. There are three reasons, which are:

(1) I want to make it clear that I am interested in having this blog help in making both YOU and ME a success in whatever we are trying to do - or might try to do in the future.

(2) I want to give both YOU and ME a place to come back to when we are considering giving up or abandoning what we believe is otherwise a great idea.

(3) I want to explain to the naysayers in the world that if you are always encouraging folks to give up on their dreams, to take the road most traveled, or to limit themselves to 1 or 2 tries on a given idea, you will be contributing to the mediocrity in the world and not its progress, success and greatness.

Just a thought...