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PERSISTENCE: Five Pointers to Climb Every Mountain

Have you ever climbed a mountain? There's nothing better than standing on top of the world with a 360-degree majestic view. From here you can see forever and this is one of the real rewards. Of course, there are many other rewards, including getting physically and mentally stronger from challenging yourself, receiving positive feedback in knowing you can accomplish a big goal, gaining confidence in your abilities, spending time with friends, learning to make good decisions along the way, and enjoying the journey.

Everyone has a mountain, figuratively or realistically, to climb in life. Building your business, starting an entrepreneurial venture, raising a healthy family, or pursuing any passionate purpose are all like climbing a mountain. Last weekend I actually climbed Mount Audubon at 13,223 feet. In doing so, I used the Persistence Strategy to mindfully persevere with focused determination and a divide-and-conquer tactic. A big purpose, which can seem overwhelming at first, is made up of many smaller purposes, intentions, and goals.

Practical Pointers for Climbing Every Mountain

COMMIT. Pledge yourself to a clear purpose for which you have passion. Increase clarity.
DIVIDE. Choose to work on a small piece of your purpose. Build focus.
CONQUER. Take action and direct — with relentless determination — your head, heart, and hands energy toward your purpose.
ASSESS AND ADJUST. Establish ways to receive feedback. Open your ears and hear the response. Use this information to adjust as necessary as well as build your energy.
ALLOW. Let go of attachment to a certain way to attain your goal. By reducing internal struggle, you increase the impact of your energy.

The more energy you focus toward a narrowly defined, clear purpose, the higher your persistence. Using the Persistence Strategy generates clarity, focus, and energy toward your purpose.

Johnny Halberstadt, a sub-4-minute-mile running champion, footwear inventor, and running store entrepreneur, shared his wisdom of breaking goals into pieces and unremittingly working at them with the right attitude. "If you want to climb Everest, you need a vision of where you want to go and you need to break it into smaller steps on how to get there. When you achieve a sub-goal, look up at Everest again and feel good about the progress you have made, but continue working on the next increment of the journey. Once you got the process down, keep going."

Assess Your Persistence

When you have a purpose, do you persistently work toward it? The Persistence Inventory will provide a quick assessment of your level of persistence and some guidance on areas that might need attention. Take it now.

Summary

Use the Persistence Strategy. Commit to a clear purpose. Divide the whole purpose into parts. Conquer the whole, piece by piece. Persevere with unremitting will to accomplish each part. Assess progress and adjust the action plan. You will receive real rewards. As it was sung in The Sound of Music, "climb every mountain, ford every stream, and follow every rainbow until you reach your dreams."

 

Theresa M. Szczurek (www.PursuitofPassionatePurpose.com, www.TMSworld.com, www.RadishSystems.com)