The Power of Persistence

 

If there is one thing you must understand about finding success, it’s that it doesn’t come easily. Some people would like to believe that it does, and many may think that for certain people, their success was handed right to them.

 

It’s easy to believe this on the surface, but if you dig deeper, you may find that the person who has achieved success had an awful hard road to travel to get there.

 

And not only did they have to deal with many setbacks and failures, but they very likely had to deal with self-doubt and the temptation to give up.

 

But if you REALLY want to make something happen or if you REALLY want to achieve success, YOU MUST NEVER GIVE UP!

 

You must persist, no matter how long it takes you to achieve your goal.

 

I was reminded of this recently, when I finally held in my hands the published copy of my poetry book, Terrors.

 

I had to take a few minutes to look at that book as I held it in my hands and savor the moment of success.

 

This is a book which had been rejected many times. Several publishers I queried and submitted the manuscript to told me no. They rejected the manuscript.

 

Time and time again, I was told that a publisher wasn’t interested in publishing my book.

 

Now, I know I could have self-published this book. I have self-published other poetry books. But not too long ago, I decided that I was done self-publishing my poetry books. I didn’t want to do that anymore.

 

I wanted to find a publisher for my poetry books.

 

That was my goal. That is something I held onto after receiving one rejection after another.

 

I didn’t give up on finding a publisher for my poetry book. It took a very long time, but I DID eventually find one.

 

In fact, I have now found two! And I am so very grateful to both of them for saying “yes” to my books and accepting my manuscripts.

 

The same could be said of my new book of short stories, The Worst Thing You Ever Did. This manuscript was also rejected many times by publishers until I finally found the publisher who said “yes” to it.

 

This would not have happened if I had given up. If I didn’t persist. I had to hang in there and keep going. Eventually, I was rewarded with success.

 

And you will, too, if you do the same. Achieving your goal and making a dream come true is hard. It can take a lot of work and a lot of time. But if it’s something you really want, then all of that money, work, time, patience and dedication will be worth it.

 

Don’t ever give up. Keep trying. Keep persisting. If you keep going after what you want no matter how long it takes, you will eventually find success.

 

So keep going!