Category Archives: Perseverance

Lessons from Walt

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The following post about Walt Disney is one of the most read pieces I’ve published.  Turns out lots of people are looking for information on Walt’s perseverance.  In any event, I’ve been reminded again how important it is for us to persevere even when we’re tired – maybe especially when we’re tired – of keeping at something.

Well, have you been trying for twenty years?  Me neither.  Keep pressing on….

Walt Disney’s Perseverance  Originally posted February 22, 2011

Travel with me back in time to 1938. It was four years past the original book release of Mary Poppins and Walt Disney made his first attempt to gain rights to transfer the beloved story to film. Mickey Mouse was a big hit and this was the year that Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was released, winning Disney an Oscar (accompanied by seven miniature statues). Really, the Snow White story provides another wonderful example of perseverance, but I’ll try to stay on track.

Anyway, 1938 was a big year for Walt (understatement), so you’d think that when he approached Helen Lyndon Goff (pen name P. L. Travers) she would have been flattered at the opportunity to work with him on a film adaptation of Mary Poppins; but no. Turns out that she didn’t think a film version of her books would do justice to her story; she didn’t want it to be turned into a cartoon.

So Mr. Disney asked again… and again… and again… and again… for 20 YEARS! During that time he released animated classics like Pinocchio, Fantasia and Bambi. He opened Disneyland. He moved out of animated films with Treasure Island, Old Yeller and The Disney Club. These were the golden years of Disney and of course I can’t begin to do justice to these 20 years with a little paragraph here.

And yet year after year, he’d pick up the phone, send a letter, drop by – however it was that Mr. Disney courted Ms. Travers’s business – to try to get the rights to Mary Poppins.

Here’s my commentary: really? Why? How did he see the potential? Why was he so driven? Or was it just a crazy obsession because he’d been told no? And didn’t he have enough going on? Why this? We won’t know… but my mind wanders. Back to the story….

Finally, P. L. Travers gave in and the rest, as they say, is history. Mary Poppins released in 1964 as one of Disney’s most successful musicals. It won Oscars. Julie Andrews won an Oscar. The songs, editing, and visual effects added even more Oscars, resulting in a total of 13. (BTW – all this information is available on Wikipedia and Answers if you want even more information on the topic.)

As you can see, Walt Disney’s perseverance paid off. In my post yesterday, I cited this as something that I found more applicable to me personally than the “hey, look how they picked up after failure” stories. I can relate to doggedly going back to something that I think really needs to get done – just like Disney did with Mary Poppins. I know I wouldn’t have had the insight to see the potential in Mary Poppins, but I can think of things in my life that I shouldn’t give up on. For that I can learn a lesson from Walt.

Even if it takes 20 years.

Coaching Challenge: Setbacks

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We all have setbacks throughout our careers and as we move toward our goals.  Sometimes it’s a deadline missed.  Other times it’s a hoped-for outcome that doesn’t come to pass.  And from time to time individuals can let us down.  Regardless of what’s happened, it’s important for each of us to take stock of what’s been learned and – more importantly – move ahead.

Have you had a recent setback that you haven’t quite gotten over yet?  Keep it in mind as we go through today’s coaching challenge.

Here we go….

  • Take time to write out what you’ve learned from this recent setback.  As much as possible, recognize the positive and those things that will provide wisdom as you continue toward your goal.
  • Once the list is complete, take a moment to be grateful. These lessons learned have made you smarter about what to do next.  Recognize this as a good thing.
  • If you find that you’re blaming someone else, decide to forgive and let it go.  Focus on what you could have done differently.  You can only change you.
  • Identify the next step you will take to move forward and make a plan to do it.
  • Going forward, decide now how you will react to the next setback you face.  Maybe you’ll set aside time to wallow and then be done.  Maybe you’ll go right into figuring out what you’ve learned.  Whatever it is, have a game plan.  There will be another setback.  Plan for it.

Finally, if resilience is something that isn’t your strength and if setbacks knock you out for quite a while, find someone to talk to about it or pick up a book on the topic.  Resilience can be learned and how you react to setbacks can make you stronger.

Moving Beyond Setback

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We know we should be resilient; pick ourselves up after a setback and move forward.  Carry on.

When it comes right down to it, what exactly does this MEAN?  If you’re like me, you may find checklists and action steps to be very helpful.  When I’m feeling lousy and wanting more to wallow in a little self-pity than to truly move ahead, being told what to do next can be beneficial.

It’s because of this that I found the 10 Ways to Deal with Setbacks article from TechRepublic to be sound advice.  Below are suggestions regarding what to do when failure has come knocking at your door.  As the article says – tips for prevailing even when things go wrong.

  • Step back and reflect
  • Find a confidante
  • Stay positive
  • Focus on the future more than the past
  • Learn from the experience
  • Be careful regarding blame
  • Find a way to benefit
  • Write about your experience
  • Teach others
  • Remember that failure isn’t final

Yes, it’s definitely easier to read the list than to actually do it all.  But then, wallowing in self-pity isn’t a compelling option, either.  Taking each one, one step at a time, will help you move forward after a setback and will assist your efforts to progress past any setback.

Responding to Setbacks

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As you may have gathered from the posts I publish here, I’m a positive person. Because I focus on goals, taking risks, going for it, finding the silver lining, sharing compliments, being grateful, and so much more; I sometimes get comments from people that imply that my life is charmed and lucky – somehow disappointment and setback free.

Whatever.

I’m here to tell you that plenty of disappointments come through the Baana household. We disappoint one another. Friends and circumstances disappoint us. We live in Fargo so the weather regularly disappoints!

What might be different is how we react in our disappointment. Sure, at first we may rant, scream… even swear. Or pout. And then we continue to love each other, our friends, and even Fargo.

When it comes to circumstance, we need to move past the setback and move on. I’ve mentioned before that during these times my favorite question to ask is, “What have I learned from this experience?” As that question is answered, I see the reason behind the setback and figure out how to apply the learning going forward. At least I like to think that’s what happens. Sometimes the pouting goes on for a while before I get to that enlightened moment.

It goes back to what John C. Maxwell points out in his book Failing Forward: the key to overcoming disappointment/failure/set-backs doesn’t happen by changing circumstances. It begins with a personal desire to be teachable. It begins within us.

Continuing to paraphrase from the book… If you’re willing to do that, then you’ll be able to handle the disappointments, setbacks and failures that come your way.

Coaching: Execution

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We can plan and dream all we want; however, until we actually begin to DO something, that’s all that will remain – plans and dreams.  Without execution, our plans and dreams will never become reality.

What have you been putting off?  What dream seems too big to move toward?  Or too small to bother with?  Pick a plan or a dream that has been hanging out there and keep it in mind as you plan to take action.

Ready to create a little momentum?

Here we go….

What one thing can you do to move closer to your goal?  Usually this first action is small – though it may not be.

Write it down.

As you consider this first step, what must you do to make it happen?  Is there a person you need to engage?  Time that should be set aside?  Additional information needed? Considering this, does your description of your action change?

Modify this first step so it is very specifically what you need to do to move forward.  Call so-and-so.  Set aside 30 minutes next week to do X.  Spend 60 minutes researching topic A.  Get to the nuts-and-bolts of what movement toward your goal means.

Now, write down the outcome you expect to achieve from your action.  This is the meat of what will move you toward your goal and it will help you gain momentum, giving you motivation to move to the next step.

Got it?  Once you realize that outcome, what will you do next?  Take this information and define the next action after that.  And the one after that.  Make a plan to keep executing.

Before you know it, your dream will be in reach.

It’s all about execution.

It’s Time To Do Your Dream

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Think about the power of putting action behind your dream.

To walk through the possibilities, let’s start with a “small” dream – taking a vacation. For many people taking a vacation seems like a dream out of reach.

“Work will fall apart without me.”

“We can’t afford it.”

“The clean-up when I get back to the office just isn’t worth it.”

Etc. Etc. Etc.

However, when we decide to follow our dream, each of these can be rebutted and actions taken to support the desired end result.

Work will fall apart without me. First, I’m only buying this one if you’re a one-person shop. You aren’t that indispensable and if you are, then perhaps you do need to leave so that others understand all that you do – but that’s a post for another day! Back to following the dream… if this is true, steps can be made to mitigate potential problems. This is your dream! Plan in advance; recruit others to help you; hire administrative help. Whatever it takes, you’ll get creative because you have a dream.

Can’t afford it? Give something up and start putting that money aside for your get-away. My sister-in-law once pointed out that just $50 a paycheck set aside would get her to a tropical island within a year. Or maybe your trip is a gift to yourself when you get a bonus or pay off a credit card. Again, with focus you could overcome this obstacle as well.

Clean-up not worth it? Well, I’d argue that it always is; but if I can’t convince you of that here’s a creative idea for those of you who live in an email centric world. I heard about someone who put on his out-of-office replies that all emails he received during his time away were headed right to the trash bin and if it was important, please send the email after he returned. Do you love this?!

All of these things take conscious effort. Without the dream as a guide, either the vacation might not take place or the concerns may actually be realized, reinforcing that vacations are tough to take, afford and return from. The dream helps make it better all around.

Now, think about the power of putting action behind your dream. Buying a lake home. Having a baby. Retiring. Changing careers. Buying new furniture. Going to college. Starting a business. Cleaning out the garage. Volunteering in Africa. Planning a family reunion.

The world needs dreamers and the world needs doers. But above all, the world needs dreamers who do. ~Sarah Ban Breathnach

Do your dream.

Time To Execute

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A dream doesn’t become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work. ~Colin Powell

Oh, yes.  We must work to achieve our dreams.  We must execute.

Have you worked in an environment that lacked execution?  A place where a lot of talking without a lot of action was the norm?  A friend of mine recently moved on to a new employer because of the lack of execution at his company.  For those of us with a propensity to action, lack of execution can be excruciating.

That said, from time to time we all fail to execute, do we not?  Procrastination is tempting when action is difficult, unpopular or boring.

In Creating a Charmed Life, author Victoria Moran reminds us to “take the next action life presents.”  This comes from the chapter Do the Next Indicated Thing – a mantra I recite when I simply don’t feel like executing.  Often, that next indicated thing is something small: wash your face before you go to bed; gather the ATM receipts before you go to the bank; plan this week’s meals before going grocery shopping; create an agenda before running a meeting.  These are the small steps taken to move toward goals.  Steps to move toward checking items off our to-do list.

It’s Monday and a perfect time to plan your execution strategy for the week.  What have you been putting off?

It’s time to execute.

Grateful Remembrance

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Today is a powerful anniversary for our country.  As I, like many of you, look back at that terrible day; what I remember most is being grateful.  Terrified.  Horrified.  Sick.  And grateful.

If your workplace was like mine, everything stopped and we all gathered around a TV in a common area of our building.  My husband and I worked at the same place, so we soon found each other and watched the day unfold together, surrounded by several coworkers who were – and still are – close friends.

The conversation echoed with many “We were just there,” statements, said with disbelief and shock.  This is why I was grateful.  It was awful to see and impossible to understand, but we were together.  My husband and friends who had been in NYC just a few days before were safely in Fargo.  We were spared frantic calls trying to place whereabouts.  Or worse.  Spared the worry that could have been added to the day.

Knowing that it could have easily gone the other way created sincere, deep empathy for our kindred Americans going through the experience.  So many of us have been to NYC and so many of us love it there that it felt close to home, even when it wasn’t.

Eleven years later I am still grateful.  I’m grateful to the men and women who have risked their lives both in the Middle East and here on our American soil in attempts to make our lives safer.  I’m grateful that the people of New York and the country chose to make a beautiful monument to honor those whose lives were sadly taken that day.  And I am, of course, profoundly grateful to have my husband with me in Fargo where he belongs.

You can be sure that the American spirit will prevail over this tragedy. ~Colin Powell

And it has.  For that, we can all be grateful.

Today’s Choices

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We know the benefit of setting long-term goals.  It’s easy to understand how our dreams can set a path for short-term goal setting, creating the road from here to there.  We know and understand… and then the time comes to make a decision.

It seems that if we set a goal for our future, short-term decisions should be easy. They’re not.  It may make our choices more clear, but that is often very different than easy.

Over the last few weeks making an easy, convenient choice has tempted my husband and me.  It even seemed like a reasonable choice to make.  But as we quit simply chatting about it and dug into what we should choose to do, it became clear (again) that making that easy, convenient choice didn’t support our long-term goals.

Sigh…

I really would love for the path to my dreams to be easy and convenient.  Evidently that isn’t going to be the case.  It will, however, be exciting and worth it when our dreams become reality.

It’s only going to happen if we make the right choices today.

Coaching: Habits

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While we all likely have bad habits we’d like to get rid of, the focus this week has been on creating new habits versus modifying old ones.  If you would like to explore ideas on how to change your current habits, pick up a copy of The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business to learn more.  For now, let’s look ahead to see how some new habits can be added to our daily routine.

Here we go….

What new habit or habits would you like to create?  Maybe you’d like to get to work on time, workout every day, get out of the office by a certain time, or incorporate healthy snacks into your day.  Pick one habit and then let’s go through the process of setting up a new habit.

First, what will be your cue?  As I learned about cues, I realized that these are very similar to primers, which have been discussed here before.  What can you put in your way to kick off the habit?  Setting an alarm on your phone?  Having a reminder pop up on your computer?  Setting an apple on your desk?  Pick whatever will work for you and your new habit.

Skipping ahead in the process, now think about what your reward will be.  It has to be a good one, a real reward for you.  If you make it to work on time, then you can grab your favorite coffee.  If you workout every day for a week, then you can reward yourself with $25 going into a clothing fund.  Whatever it is, be sure that it’s something that’s good for you.  It can be simple.  We brush our teeth every day because of that minty tingle that we get when we’re through.

Finally, do the routine.  Do it daily and as you do, keep your mind on the reward.  If it’s easy for you, great!  If it’s hard, be sure to apply the belief that you CAN make it happen.  If you tell yourself every day that you’ll never be able to get to work on time… you’ll be right.

Create a cue.  Do the routine.  Reward yourself.  And believe.

Creating New Habits

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Oftentimes habits are seen as negative as we think about all the bad habits we have (or think we have).  That aside, habits are necessary.  What if you had to actually make a decision regarding whether to brush your teeth today?  Or had to think about each step in the process of backing your car out of the driveway like you did when you were a beginner?  If our lives weren’t routine we’d be exhausted from all the willpower needed to navigate through the day.

When we encounter a new task, our brains light up as we navigate the unknown.  The more we do the task, the less brainpower it takes.  Because of this, on our commute we’re able to think about what we need to get done at work for the day instead of paying attention to each driving maneuver we make on the way there.

Any task that converts to a habit draws less on our willpower, leaving more for us to use in other ways.  So, how to create a new habit?  According to The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business, it’s as simple and as difficult as this:

Want to exercise more? Choose a cue, such as going to the gym as soon as you wake up, and a reward, such as a smoothie after each workout.  Then think about the smoothie, or about the endorphin rush you’ll feel.  Allow yourself to anticipate the reward.  Eventually, that craving will make it easier to push through the gym doors every day.

Cravings are what drive habits.  And figuring out how to spark a craving makes creating a new habit easier.

It’s this cycle of “Cue – Routine – Reward,” topped off with craving the reward, which fuels all our habits.  Good or bad.

Finally, we need to believe it can be done.  Without this important piece, our new habits fall apart when we encounter stress.

Create a cue.  Do the routine.  Reward yourself.  And believe.

Exploring The Power Of Habit

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An apple a day…

Writing posts for this blog has become second nature after doing it so long.  A habit, you might say.  And yet… well, I find it interesting that during this week when I intended to write about habits that I completely forgot about writing a post until well into the afternoon yesterday.

In any event, I’ve been thinking about habits – both good and bad – as I have Charles Duhigg’s book The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business on my reading list and have been checking out various articles on the topic.  In just about every mention of the book, the example of the American habit of brushing teeth comes up.

It’s amazing to me that 100 years ago hardly anyone brushed his or her teeth.  Seems hard to imagine, doesn’t it?  But it’s true.  It wasn’t a habit that we had, collectively, at the time.  It took a brilliant marketer to figure out how to make it a habit for a nation – and for generations.  What an impact.

If the habits of an entire country can be changed, I imagine that the habits in my life could be changed as well.  Bad habits could be discarded.  Good habits could be created.  Even more intriguing, if one individual could persuade so many people to change their habits, maybe there’s a way that I could influence the habits of other people as well.  And given that, who has influenced my habits?

This is all relevant because anything that we do out of habit draws less from our willpower, leaving more of that available to us for the tough stuff we need to get through every day.

So what is a habit and what should become one?  We’ll learn more about that together this week.

Self-Discovery Through Failure

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We often learn more about ourselves through failure than through success.  It’s true.  And sometimes painful.

As you may have gathered from the posts I publish here, I’m a positive person. Because I focus on goals, taking risks, going for it, finding the silver lining, sharing compliments, being grateful, and so much more; I sometimes get comments from people that imply that my life is blessed, charmed, lucky – somehow disappointment and failure free.

Whatever.

I’m here to tell you that plenty of disappointments come through the Baana household. We disappoint one another. Friends and circumstances disappoint us. We live in Fargo so the weather regularly disappoints!

What might be different is how we react in our disappointment. Sure, at first we may rant, scream… even swear. Or pout. And then we continue to love each other, our friends, and even Fargo.

When it comes to circumstance, we need to move past the setback and move on. I’ve mentioned before that during these times my favorite question to ask is, “What have I learned from this experience?” As that question is answered, I see the reason behind the failure and figure out how to apply the learning going forward.  Figure out what it is that I’ll do differently next time.  At least I like to think that’s what happens. Sometimes the pouting goes on for a while before I get to that enlightened moment.

It goes back to what John C. Maxwell points out in his book Failing Forward: the key to overcoming disappointment/failure/set-backs doesn’t happen by changing circumstances. It begins with a personal desire to be teachable. It begins within us.

Continuing to paraphrase from the book… If you’re willing to do that, then you’ll be able to handle the disappointments, setbacks and failures that come your way.  And you’ll likely learn something about yourself in the process as well.

Find Your Creativity

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This week has brought with it a bit of writer’s block.  Thankfully, with it also came this week’s theme: creativity.  You see, when we are backed into a corner, restricted, or even bored or tired, these are the times when our creativity comes out of nowhere.

It’s like the experience we’ve all had of our best ideas occurring while in the shower.  When we give up the hope of figuring out how to come up with a solution – when we stop thinking about it directly and let our creative side come at it from a different angle – then we often are blessed with a solution to what seemed to be an unsolvable problem.

When I hit the bottom of the idea barrel, I took a second look and found creativity there.  Even if you aren’t writing a blog every day, you may have a circumstance at work or at home where you also feel completely out of ideas.

Reach in and find your creativity.

Got To Focus!

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Maybe you’re someone who’s able to ignore all the noise around you and really focus on what needs to be done.  With a sick kid who is coughing and watching T.V. in the other room, I’m working hard to focus on simply thinking, let alone getting some work done.  You guessed it; sometimes I have trouble with focus.

In my defense, as a mom I should pay attention to the hacking kid on the couch.  On the other hand, I could easily use him as an excuse to get very little done today.  And an excuse it would be!

Unfortunately, he’s not the only thing vying for my attention this morning.  Those things that I must focus on seem less interesting than the shiny objects I long to be distracted by.

So I’m digging in, checking one thing after another off of my to-do list, and thinking that if I spend this week blogging about focus perhaps it will help me to focus.

We shall see.

Coaching Challenge: Confidence

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It seems that confidence will wane in a particular area.  For example, we can be very confident on one project at work but not another or confident around everyone except for a certain person.  Take a moment to think about where and when you have less confidence than you normally do as we go through today’s mini coaching exercise.  It’s time to boost your confidence and the confidence of those around you!

Here we go….

  • When thinking about the situation where you’re confidence is less than you’d like it to be, remember why you chose to do what you’re doing in the first place.
  • What one thing can you do to remind yourself of why it is that you are doing this?  Identify the value or the dream associated with this area and focus on it.
  • Has a recent failure damaged your confidence?  Like Davis, you may have failed but that doesn’t mean you’re a failure.  Take note of what you learned from the experience.  Recognize the value you brought in it.  Find your confidence in knowing that you were true to yourself and others.
  • If it’s around a particular person that your confidence depletes, ask yourself these questions:
    • What makes this person so important to you?  Is that valid?
    • What can you do to change how you react around them?
    • If the person is unavoidable (a parent, boss or significant other), what can you do to take your power back?  There could be another post on this… but really, that loss of confidence you feel is the power you hand over to them.  Remember that it’s yours to give and to take.

And finally, who needs your confidence?  Give it to them.

Be Confident

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Fortunately I’ve actually had very little time with bad bosses during my career.  The few that I’ve had have been pretty short-term and that, of course, was a very good thing.

While working for one particular manager who wasn’t among the best I’ve had, I learned again what I already knew to be true… but had neglected at the very worst time.  When starting a new role, I found myself without the confidence and assuredness that I normally hold.

As is often the case when coming into a new position, I was pretty much thrown into it with little preparation and little support.  A mistake managers often make with new employees: expecting that they know everything they need to know coming into the role.  Nobody ever can possibly have all the information they need on day one.  Anyway… that wasn’t the issue.

The issue was not knowing the intricacies of the job – and believing that everyone around me thought I should know them all – shot down my confidence.  When it came time for me to stand up for what my team needed, I gave up and backed down.  I knew the decisions being made were wrong, but I didn’t believe in myself enough to push as hard as I needed to.  I paid for it later.

Within a short time, I found a new role and moved on with another lesson in my pocket.

Trust my gut; be confident; and never be afraid to ask for information.

Now you can follow me on Twitter!

Lost Confidence? It Pays To Remember Why…

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In order to be our best selves we need to be confident: confident about our decisions, confident about the path we choose to take, and confident in our beliefs, values and dreams.  As soon as our confidence starts to waver, that’s when we question all these things.

How to remain confident?  Now, that can be a struggle.

Really, there are so many things that come at us to weaken confidence.  Who hasn’t come to a bold, determined decision only to have it immediately picked apart?  If the person picking is important to us, our confidence can wane quickly – sometimes bringing us back to “square one” in the decision making process.

You know I believe in listening to and acting on feedback.  That said, we must work through our own decisions and be confident in them as we move forward.

So again, how can that be done?

I’m not going to pretend to have the answers but I can provide a helpful tip: an important piece in keeping confident is remembering why it is that this specific decision was made in the first place.  When decisions are made there’s always a reason, oftentimes a very good, well-thought-out reason.  We’ve got to remember that.

Why did you leave your job to start a new business?

Why did you recommit to your current job when you decided to stay?

What was it that compelled you to sign up for a marathon?

Why are you pursuing your degree?

We all have days when our confidence slips.  Remembering the deliberate choices made that brought this exact moment and experience to us can help bring our confidence up again.

Coaching: Diligence

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A short but full week, the topic of being diligent isn’t exactly a fun one.  Diligence requires willpower, tenacity, and a continued inner strength.  Staying diligent can wear us down, of course; but the payoff will be sweet!

So let’s dive into how to be more diligent.  Grab a pen and paper so you can take notes, answer questions, and set a few goals around being more diligent.

Here we go….

Where have you lost your ambition for a goal?  How important is reaching that goal to you?  If it’s still important, what can you do to reignite your ambition and gain diligence while seeking the goal?  A few ideas:

  • Remind yourself what the long-term payoff will be; what the vision is that you are hoping to achieve.  Tie that short-term aspiration to your long-term goal.
  • What is it that you are moving toward?  If your goal is about moving away from something or some behavior, it’s more difficult to stay motivated.  Find a way to rewrite your goal so that it is about what you will do versus what you will not do.
  • Make it measureable.  You can’t achieve what you cannot measure.
  • Click on the “goal setting” tag on this blog and you’ll find many posts on how to set a better goal.  I guess it’s one of my favorite topics.

On the topic of maintenance, diligence can get a little harder.  After all, we’ve made it!  Time to relax a bit and enjoy, right?  Probably not.  The main thing here is to remember, again, the big picture.  Did you lose weight to gain it back?  Of course not.  Are you planning for this promotion to be your last one?  Probably not.  Whatever it is that you achieved, you had a long-term vision of what achieving that goal would do for you, what the payoff would be.  Remember that and you’ll (hopefully) be motivated to remain diligent.

Need a little more motivation?  Perseverance was one of the first topics for this blog.  A few of those past posts are: Persistant Puppy, Walt Disney’s Perseverance, A Little Nut, and Perseverance’s Parts.

Remain Diligent

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Here’s the kicker… once diligence pays off and a goal is achieved we must still remain diligent.

Did you finally get the promotion you worked hard for?  You need to keep working hard.

Reach your target weight?  You must continue to eat well and exercise.

Save money so you can retire?  You have to manage that money well in retirement.

Close that deal with a hotly pursued client?  You’ll need to soon go after another.

Diligence is incredibly important to achieving goals.  In the same way, diligence is also required to maintain what we have worked so hard to achieve.  We can’t let up.  If we do we might slip back to where we were.

So don’t get comfortable and overconfident when you’ve reached your destination.  Enjoy that you’ve arrived and then figure out your plan to stay there.

Remain diligent.

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