”I think and think for months and years. Ninety-nine times, the conclusion is false. The hundredth time I am right.- Albert Einstein”
What are you dreaming? How badly do you want to accomplish your dream? Are you close to giving up? Don’t!
You may be one phone call, one email, one tweet, one Facebook update away from accomplishing your goal. But to succeed, you can’t quit. If you quit now, you’re guaranteed failure.
Life will continually offer you opportunities to quit or settle for less than best, but hold on just a little longer.
When you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hang on. – Thomas Jefferson
Persistence rewarded
During Sunday night’s 2013 Academy Awards, “Argo” won the Oscar for “Best Picture.” Based on CIA attempts to rescue hostages from Tehran in the early ’80s, the film was directed by Cambridge-native Ben Affleck. Not only did Affleck receive one of the most sought-after awards of the film industry, but the award was announced by the First Lady of the United States, Michelle Obama, via satellite from the White House.
This was obviously an emotional moment for Affleck.
Some 15 years earlier, Affleck received a “Best Original Screenplay” Oscar for “Good Will Hunting,” which he co-wrote with Matt Damon. Subsequently, Affleck scored some big acting successes with movies like “Armageddon,” “Pearl Harbor,” and “Daredevil.” But then he hit some potholes in the road to success with some less than shining performances in “Gigli” and “Jersey Girl.” Not to mention his tabloid-esque romance with Jennifer Lopez.
But Affleck didn’t give up. He quietly married “Daredevil” co-star Jennifer Garner and re-invented himself as a film director. In 2007, Affleck received acclaim for his first directing attempt, “Gone Baby Gone.” Then in 2010, he received more critical acclaim for his direction of “The Town.”
Sunday night, as Affleck breathlessly stammered through his acceptance speech, he spoke enthusiastically and shared some hard-learned lessons.
Lessons according to Affleck
- Be thankful.
- Work harder than you think you can.
- Don’t hold grudges.
- If you get knocked down in life, you gotta get back up.
Regardless of whether you like the movie or the man, Affleck’s advice was spot on.
Watch The Entire Speech
You may not want to direct a movie, but you’re sure to have dreams and aspirations. And if you want any hope of fulfilling your dreams, you have to work harder, learn something new every day, and constantly re-invent yourself.
In the Bible, there’s a parable about a man who was surprised by some unexpected guests and didn’t have enough food for them. So he visited his neighbor’s house for some help.
“Suppose you went to a friend’s house at midnight, wanting to borrow three loaves of bread. You say to him, 6 ‘A friend of mine has just arrived for a visit, and I have nothing for him to eat.’ 7 And suppose he calls out from his bedroom, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is locked for the night, and my family and I are all in bed. I can’t help you.’ 8 But I tell you this—though he won’t do it for friendship’s sake, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you whatever you need because of your shameless persistence.[d] – Luke 11 (NLT)
I love that. Shameless persistence. Are you shamelessly persistent? How can you be more shamelessly persistent? How can you help someone else be shamelessly persistent.
3 steps to shameless persistence
- Ask for help accomplishing your dream.
- Knock on the doors of your dream.
- Seek your dream daily.
You may fail during your journey. But if you never quit, you will never be a failure.
Image: Di’s Eyes
References:
- http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/oscars-2013-ben-afflecks-oscars-speech-18586776
- http://movies.yahoo.com/blogs/2013-oscars/ben-affleck-reborn-oscar-gigli-oscar-063738507.html
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran_hostage_crisis#Release
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Robert is the founder of RobertRizzo.com | Mediocrity-Free Living. He is passionate about helping people discover the rewards of daily giving.
