24th April, 2023
Whenever I think of persistence, I am reminded of a quote by author, James Watkins, “A river cuts through rock, not because of its power, but because of its persistence.”
The Lion may be the king of the jungle but his hunting success rate is less than 25%. The best land hunters in the natural world are African wild dogs. They owe their 60% to 85% rate of success to teamwork and stamina. African wild dogs hunt in packs, and even though they reach chase speeds of 60 km per hour, that’s still not fast enough to catch a sprinting antelope; instead they pursue their prey for long distances, wearing them down.
How is it that these frail looking creatures are the best hunters?
Their secret is persistence. While other predators chase their prey at high speed, but if they don’t catch their prey, they give up the chase and look for something else to hunt but wild dogs on the other hand follow their prey for miles until the prey is exhausted and gives up and becomes easy meat for the wild dogs.
Persistence is a key ingredient to success; it is a talent multiplier. Without persistence, it doesn’t matter how talented you are, because your full potential will never be achieved.
We know from history that Thomas Edison tried and failed over 10,000 times in a quest to light up the world. At no point, he considered himself as a failure. He, like any successful person, saw failure as a learning opportunity. Every failed attempt was a chance to learn from the outcomes, and apply that learning. If anyone were the poster child for persistence, it would be Thomas Edison. Persistence can be defined as the quality that allows someone to continue doing something or trying to do something even though it is difficult or opposed by other people.
As U.S. President Calvin Coolidge said: “Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.”
Persist with your dream, keep trying, don’t give up and stay blessed forever.