Never Give Up! The Staying Power We Need

Success is always possible! There are so many well-known stories of those who have traversed difficult times and seemingly impossible situations; eventually coming out victorious. What is most notable is that the stories' heroes were rejected several times and could have easily retreated into apathy and defeat. There is a lot to be said then about the value and power of persistence when dealing with challenging circumstances. To stay the course, one needs to cultivate a positive "can do" attitude and maintain a mindset and belief that if you just keep going forward - you can achieve anything you set your mind to.

One such example is that of the infamous Chicken Soup for the Soul books. When the pleasant and most delightful Jack Canfield presented his writing, he was rejected by 144 publishers before one finally agreed to market his book. The Chicken Soup for the Soul collection later went on to become a multi-million dollar franchise! Jack Canfield's take on persistence when dealing with rejection highlights the importance of the right mindset when contending with adversity. He created an intriguing acronym, which can inspire you as a business owner to keep pressing on as you try new things, build and grow your business, or find the right people to help you. The acronym is SWSWSW which stands for "some will - some won't - someone's waiting." What a great reminder! Not everyone will buy into what you are trying to do, but some will. More importantly, someone is waiting - so we need to persevere. Here are a few more examples of SWSWSW in action:

Star Wars:

George Lucas was rejected by two movie studios when trying to promote Star Wars. Had he given up, we wouldn't have Star Wars today, and he wouldn't have sold it to Disney for a whopping 4 billion dollars!

Walt Disney:

Walt was fired from the Kansas City Star as a Cartoonist because "he lacked imagination and had no good ideas." Imagine if he allowed the opinion of a few to smoulder his true potential?

Apple:

Steve Jobs was fired by his own board of directors, but later Apple became one of the world's largest companies.

Starbucks:

Howard Schultz approached 242 investors and was rejected by 217 of them. What if he had given up?

Hopefully, these iconic examples inspire you to keep going and not give up during challenging times. True, it's not always easy, but one thing that can help is the way we view "obstacles". A book entitled "The Obstacle is the Way" by Ryan Holliday sheds light on the advantages of obstacles. Essentially, we either earn or we learn.

If you need help working through some challenges or need to brainstorm a 'Plan B', we welcome you to book a free discovery call to learn about our virtual support services and see how WE can help YOU to forge ahead toward your success!

"It always seems impossible until it's done"

Nelson Mandela

Sources: Jack Canfield YT Video/Amazon-Obstacles is the Way/The Creative Rachael