For those who persevere, there is no hurdle uncrossable, no obstacle invincible

Roopleen Prasad

22-June-2012

Vol 0 | Issue 1

Accolades keep pouring in for Yani Tseng. The British B2B sporting magazine SportsPro Media recently declared her the most marketable female athlete in the world.

At 22, Yani became the youngest golfer, male or female, in modern golf history, to win five major championships beating Tiger Wood’s record of two years. As a tribute to her 11 tournament wins worldwide in 2011, Ladies Professional Golf Association declared November 11, 2011 (11/11/11) as “Yani Tseng day.”

And it’s not surprising then that the world’s top ranked woman golfer and Taiwan’s Golden girl, has also made it to the Time Magazine's list of the 100 most influential people in the world.

However, success for Yani didn’t happen overnight. Born in 1989, Yani Tseng was only 6 years old when she started playing golf. Even at that tender age, she used to play golf for four to five hours every day after school.

Like any other sports person, she too experienced ups and downs over the course of her career but remained persistent throughout and kept telling herself- “I CAN do it.” Hers is a story of hard work, perseverance and self belief.

Yani is not alone. There are numerous inspiring stories of men and women whose astonishing success was the result of relentless hard work and dogged perseverance.

India’s own golden boy Abhinav Bindra, while chronicling his journey to the Olympic gold has stated that “it wasn’t talent but sheer perseverance” that helped him realize his dream.

The five-time women's World boxing champion and India’s best bet to win gold at the London Olympics, Mary Kom also attributes her success to “some talent and a lot of hard work and perseverance.”

However, in today’s fast paced world, perseverance is becoming a rare quality. We demand instant everything- instant coffee, instant microwave cooking, instant messaging.

But success doesn’t happen that way; it simply doesn’t come with the snapping of the fingers. To get to the top requires a lot of hard work, determination and above all perseverance.

Calvin Coolidge, the 30th President of the United States, known for his persuasive words and respected for his integrity, rightly said- “Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men 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. The slogan, 'press on' has solved, and always will solve, the problems of the human race."

In the face of setbacks and obstacles, it is easy to get dejected and feel defeated. Many falter and give up. But successful are those who persevere through the hard times regardless of the roadblocks. Success depends upon, what Miller called, the “staying power” and the willingness to persist in the face of seemingly insurmountable challenges.

It is hard to find a better example of perseverance than Nelson Mandela who endured 27 years of prison for his opposition to racial discrimination. Even in prison, he kept hope alive against all odds and continued his fight against Apartheid.

After years of struggle, Mandela eventually succeeded in bringing about the end of the Apartheid system and in 1994, at the ripe age of 72 became the first democratically elected State President of South Africa.

Today Mandela is a global icon and his name has become synonymous with determination and perseverance. H. Jackson Brown’s words so very aptly sum up his strength and personality- "In the confrontation between the stream and the rock, the stream always wins- not through strength but by perseverance."

Achieving anything worthwhile is never easy. “If you're trying to achieve, Michael Jordan once remarked, “there will be roadblocks. I've had them; everybody has had them. But obstacles don't have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.”

The power of perseverance is truly amazing. It can help you pull through the rough patches, keep you afloat when the going gets tough and help you tide over temporary setbacks. The premise of the legendary story of the King of Scotland- Robert the Bruce and the spider that ‘perseverance eventually leads to success’ still holds true today.

Nothing is impossible in this world. Every goal is achievable. You just need to focus on your objectives, be persistent in your efforts and work hard to make it happen. There can be no hurdle uncrossable, no obstacle invincible and no stumbling block insurmountable.

As André A. Jackson puts it- “Difficult things take a long time, impossible things a little longer.”
The Author is a Motivational counselor, Speaker, Ophthalmologist, and Author of 'Principles of Success made easy-14 easy steps to climb the ladder of success.