Inspirational speach: Persistence is a Character Quality

I'll confess that I am a highly motivated, very enthusiastic golfer. That doesn't necessarily mean I'm good at the game. It does mean, however, that I love to play, and because I'm optimistic, I always believe my next game will be the best one I've ever played.

Apparently, that's part of the makeup of Craig Parry. He's a superb golfer and yet, in the 10 years he's been on the PGA Tour, he participated in 235 tournaments before he won his first one. That's a lot of persistence.

In 1952, my dream of becoming an inspirational speaker was born after my wife and I heard Mr. Bob Bales of Phoenix speak. His presentation was a big help to those that heard it, he looked like he was having lots of fun, and he got paid lots of money for his time. All of those things attracted me, and I made my decision that night to become an inspirational speaker. It took until 1970 before I could speak full time, and it was 1972 before my career exploded. Along the way, there were difficult days and times, but I never wavered in my determination to accomplish the objective of becoming a successful speaker. I'm glad I persisted.

A powerful point about persistence is made in the Chinese Bamboo tree story I tell in my book "Raising Positive Kids in a Negative World." The Chinese plant the bamboo seed, water and fertilize it, but the first year nothing happens. The second year they water it and fertilize it and still nothing happens. The third year again they water and fertilize and still nothing happens. The fourth year they water and fertilize, and yet nothing happens. But in the fifth year, in a period of roughly six weeks, the Chinese bamboo tree grows roughly 90 feet. The question is obvious: Did it grow 90 feet in six weeks or was it 90 feet in five years? A little reflection will make the answer obvious: It was five years, because had there been any year when they did not water and fertilize it, there would have been no Chinese bamboo tree.

If you explore them a little more carefully you will discover that those "instant" successes you see and read about were the result -- in virtually every case, unless it's a spectacularly heroic incident that propelled someone into an unexpected career -- of much planning and a great deal of preparation. These are men and women who carefully planned, worked hard and persisted until they achieved the results they had hoped to achieve. The question is, how do you persist when there is little hope you will ultimately break through and make it? Answer: First, make certain you not only have the dream, but that the dream has you. Second, understand that when the going gets tough, the hopeful keep going. Feed the hope by recording the little victories that will let you know that if you string enough of the little victories together, they will add up to a big victory.

Let's look at the Craig Parry example again. Though I have not checked his record, I'm confident that along the way there were a number of times when he would have entered the victory circle had it not been for a couple of missed putts, a careless out of bounds drive, or the hot streak of another golfer who birdied the last four holes to steal the victory at the last moment. However, the record will always show that Craig Parry persisted and ultimately won the victory that had eluded him for so long.

Message: When you persist, good things result.