Picture the craziest obstacle course you can think of. There’s multiple 20 foot walls you have to climb and pull yourself over. Moats with cold and murky water you have to crawl through. Fire shooting above your head. Canyons you have to swing across. Random flying objects trying to knock you down.
Use your imagination. Make it really crazy.
Once you picture the obstacle course in your mind, stretch it out over a year. How many of your would do it? How many of you would finish that obstacle course no matter hard it was, or how long it took?
The truth is that 99% of people wouldn’t even attempt it, let alone finish it. Too scary. Too risky. Too hard. Too far. Too long. Too many unknowns.
However, a few of you would attempt the obstacle course, but even fewer would complete it.
That’s perseverance.
The willingness to do something despite the enormous difficulties that might lie ahead.
Entrepreneurship is that obstacle course. That’s why “perseverance” is the most important word in the entrepreneurship dictionary.
Still not convinced? Here’s a quote about perseverance from a guy you might know.
Steve Jobs on “Perseverance”
“I’m convinced that about half of what separates the successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance. It is so hard. You pour so much of your life into this thing. There are such rough moments in time that most people give up. I don’t blame them. It’s really tough. It consumes your life.”
A final thought
Almost every day of my life I think about the word “perseverance”. It’s that important. Like any entrepreneur, I have good days and some bad days. Thinking about that word gets me through those bad days.
I know what separates the best athletes, actors, business people, politicians, philanthropists, and entrepreneurs in the world. It’s pure perseverance. Who want’s it more? Who’s willing to sacrifice?
Not many people are. If you want to be the best at something…if you want to be an entrepreneur, think about perseverance and why it’s the most important word in the entrepreneur dictionary.
Thanks for reading.