…EVERY DAMN TIME

Here is a little lesson in persistence for all of us.

I have taken this from Napoleon Hill’s book “Think And Grow Rich”.

Which, incidentally, should be one of the books that you need to read till it falls apart in your hands – yes, it’s that good.

So let’s jump in as I am itching to share this story with you.

In writing this book, Napoleon Hill’s sources were multi-millionaires he was interviewing so he could turn the secret of their success into a science.

A blueprint for other people to follow and become just as successful.

One of the millionaires featured was this guy named RU Darby, a dude who made millions selling insurance (of all things).

RU Darby told Napoleon a story about his uncle, who originally hailed from Maryland.

So this relative of Darby got caught up in the gold rush fever and made his way over to West Colorado to claim his stake of gold.

He hunted around for a good spot and started digging in what looked like a promising place to hit the big time.

In a very short while, believe it or not, he did come across gold ore, a discovery which lit up his lust lamp as bright as the Oak Island Lighthouse.

(I can just picture him hot, sweating and caked with dust, ogling at the ore in his grimy hands, feeling his heartbeat in his ears and that old cash register going “ka-ching” in his brain.)

At that point, he knew that in order to do any serious digging, he was going to need some serious machinery. A pickaxe and a shovel just didn’t cut it.

No sirree Bob, he was going to need the big guns here, and by God and country, he would get them.

So, being a crafty little bugger, he covered the mine up, said nothing to anyone about his find and shot back home to Maryland to raise up some cash and get the equipment he needed to dig his new fortune up.

Which is where he enlisted RU Darby to come along and help, and get rich in the process too (see the carrot right there?).

In short order, they successfully got the money and the machinery together and went back to Colorado to make their fortunes.

When the first load of ore was mined and shipped to a smelter (that’s the chemical wizard guy who extracts a metal from its ore – the rock that contains the payday), it was confirmed that this was one of the richest veins ever discovered in Colorado!

Cue the throwing of hats in the air, the yells of unfettered glee and the dumping down the gullets of celebratory alcohol (and, later on, probably some party ladies on the side too).

So they set up all their industrial gear and went to work with mucho gusto.

Well, that ore starting coming right up and damn, they were in seventh heaven.

They had it made!

They were going to pay off all their debts and become actual millionaires.

Oooh yeah mama!

Then, the unthinkable happened…

 

THE BEST LAID PLANS OF MICE AND MEN…

The damn vein just fizzled out.

That’s right – no more of the shiny stuff.

All gone.

RU Darby and his uncle went bugnuts.

They drilled like maniacs, trying to find the vein again. They must have turned the place into one giant Swiss cheese.

They drilled and drilled and drilled…with no success.

And then, they decided to QUIT.

The vein had been just a fluke. There was no pot of gold as they had been told.

They just wanted to go back home and lick their wounds.

So, in order to recover some of their losses, they unloaded their machinery onto some idiot junkman for a few dollars.

“You are making a fine investment sir, you are collaring this state of the art apparatus for a fraction of the retail price. It’s a killing!”

(“Good luck with this shit dude, there ain’t no gold around these here parts.”)

Well, it turned out that this junkman’s mama hadn’t raised any fools.

He realized that these Maryland fellas hadn’t invested in all this expensive, fancy equipment for nothing.

There had to be more to it.

So he put on his smart beanie and thought about it.

Was a bit of a doozie actually.

The next practical step was to ask a pro.

Simple huh? (Maybe, but simple and obvious are not always mutually compatible…)

So he found someone who knew his stuff about mining (sorry, that would be a mining engineer) and asked him to give him the real juice on the area where the gold was supposed to be.

Well, that fella went about his business, checked the fault lines and the geological layout of the land, and told the junkman that the REAL vein was just three feet from where RU Darby and his uncle had given up digging.

Say what?

Three damn feet you say?

You gotta be kiddin’ me, Mr. Mining Engineer Man!

The junkman switched the machinery back on and dug three more feet.

And hit the motherload.

BAM!

One of the richest veins in Colorado, with untold millions of gold waiting there.

Let me say this again.

Just.

Three.

Feet.

Away.

 

A LESSON FOR LIFE

OK that is one awesome fireside tale (and a true one to boot).

But what do we need to learn from it?

RU Darby did learn – he went on to become a millionaire in his own right selling insurance – because he would never accept a “No” from a person he wanted to sell insurance to.

After having given up three feet away from the fortune of a lifetime, he promised himself he would never stop at a “No!” again while he lived.

So, the most important lesson – PERSISTENCE.

Babe Ruth once said “It’s hard to beat the man who never gives up!”

The power of persistence cannot be denied.

Talent, education and even genius, don’t hold a candle to dogged perseverance.

It is the one thing that basically guarantees success – keeping on at it and never letting go.

Once you have set your goals up, prepared for obstacles and setbacks (and yes, they will hit you like a train), but then – just jump in.

Keep your eyes and ears open for feedback and your heart and brain alert for reviewing and assessing the situation tactically and emotionally.

Then go for it like you had a gun to your head, as copywriting legend John Carlton said.

The second, and crucially important thing here – ASK FOR HELP.

(Around here, we call it “be coachable”.)

Without direction, persistence is just an exercise in insanity.

Allow me to be a bit more loquacious – always walk with a mentor that knows his shit.

Doing things by yourself in an area where you have little to no knowledge, is going to result in desperation – and eventually, failure.

It’s just infinitely better to be guided by someone who knows the way.

Why would you turn a caring hand away?

A misguided person is the one who learns from his own mistakes.

A wise person learns from the mistakes of others.

It really does not make any sense wasting time doing things alone when you can achieve results so much quicker and effectively with reliable guidance.

Our time is way too precious to be frittered away like that.

 

ARE YOU GUILTY?

This is actually something I deal with on an every day basis.

I see people trying to get fit and healthy without asking for input and without investing in a coach (and what they are really doing, is investing in themselves, when they do).

Invariably, the vast majority of them start dragging ass, then fail and give up (and yeah, then cue the Boohoo Excuse Army).

It really does not have to be this way.

It makes me cringe to see people fail when success is truly so near to them (and yes, it is there, even if they cannot see it).

A good coach will get you results way faster, safer and more reliably than you ever could by winging it.

And a great coach will get you results for a lifetime, as opposed to those that last only a few weeks.

It makes for a much better and happier experience all around (duh!).

That is why we will EXCLUSIVELY work with clients who are willing to invest in themselves.

It makes so much more sense that way.

I mean, you have obviously started a journey because you want to get somewhere meaningful, correct?

Why the HELL would you run yourself to exhaustion in a huge circle, and get nowhere – on purpose?

Makes no sense huh?

Right?

So, tell me – why are YOU still doing it?

 

THE TAKEAWAYS

First thing – stop, take a step back and look around.

Assess the situation.

Yes, do keep fighting always – but fight smart, as well as with heart.

As in boxing, it’s all about getting up one more time.

You will get knocked down in life, but then, getting knocked down is not losing.

You can only lose once you decide to STAY down.

Finally, keep in mind that the real magic happens when you walk hand in hand with someone who knows the way, and loves to share that with others.

The TRULY expensive part is losing the plot because you decided to set yourself up for failure by doing things alone.

Not because you decide to invest in your success.

So – with these simple but powerful tweaks in mind, go out there and conquer.

I seriously just LOVE to see people ROCKIN’ IT!

Best thing in life is to be instrumental in someone’s success.

 

PS: Here is a quote on persistence I absolutely love – from a legend called Rocky Balboa.

“I’d hold you up to say to your mother, “this kid’s gonna be the best kid in the world. This kid’s gonna be somebody better than anybody I ever knew.”

And you grew up good and wonderful. It was great just watching you, every day was like a privilege.

Then the time come for you to be your own man and take on the world, and you did.

But somewhere along the line, you changed. You stopped being you. You let people stick a finger in your face and tell you you’re no good.

And when things got hard, you started looking for something to blame. Like a big shadow.

Let me tell you something you already know.

The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s a very mean and nasty place and I don’t care how tough you are it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life.

But it ain’t about how hard you hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward.

That’s how winning is done!

Now if you know what you’re worth then go out and get what you’re worth.

But ya gotta be willing to take the hits, and not pointing fingers saying you ain’t where you wanna be because of him, or her, or anybody! Cowards do that and that ain’t you! You’re better than that!

I’m always gonna love you no matter what. No matter what happens. You’re my son and you’re my blood. You’re the best thing in my life.

But until you start believing in yourself, ya ain’t gonna have a life.”

 

 

PPS: If you found this helpful, and you believe that you are ready for a change in your life, you are going to love working with us. Drop as a line on info@bfgozo.com and ask about a Discovery Session today!

 

 

 

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