Persistence: One Thing That Will Transform Your Life and Performance
“Fail ninety nine times. Get up a hundred.”
A supervisor once told me that the best predictor of a person’s potential to achieve great things in the future was their past. In his mind, what an individual had done was a trustworthy indicator of what they would do down the road.
From a practical standpoint, his opinion helped guide his decisions about how to put together project teams. Those who had done well leading others in the past were at the top of his list to spearhead important projects in the future. Those who had not — weren’t.
While I certainly respected that gentleman — a seasoned professional who had more years of business experience than I had years on the earth — his hypothesis about the link between past performance and future success was one that I could not accept.
I didn’t believe it then. And I don’t believe it now.
Why?
Because people are dynamic. They are uniquely endowed by the Creator to learn, to grow, to develop.
Where you have been cannot limit where you can go.
Unless, of course, you accept my supervisor’s flawed hypothesis.
The real truth is that individual’s commitment to continue — their willingness to learn, to grow, and to keep trying — is a much better predictor of their capacity to achieve than any past experience could ever be.
5,126 “Failures,” One Massive Success
James was in his early twenties when he began working as an apprentice to Jeremy, the unorthodox chairman of a manufacturing company. As an apprentice, James designed a marine transport vessel to be used by oil and construction companies, as well as the military, to transport loads as heavy as three tons out to sea, at what was then considered a blazing speed — 50 miles per hour.
Ultimately, that pathbreaking design earned the manufacturer millions — and earned James his first corporate job.
Not long afterward, the bright young design engineer began working on an invention of his own — a vacuum cleaner that would suction, filter, and store dirt and dust particles efficiently— instead of trapping the waste in clog-prone bags, only to spew the particles back into the atmosphere with continued use.
Over the course of five years, James built 5,126 prototypes of the nifty household appliance, all of which failed to meet his expectations.
But prototype 5,127 worked.
Though just about everyone who knew James — besides his wife — counted him a fool for plugging away at his impossible idea, he was convinced of its merit.
So he put his house up as collateral to obtain a $900,000 loan — and began marketing.
Today, James Dyson’s cyclonic vacuum is sold in sixty five countries — and Dyson, Inc. employees over 1,000 equally foolish design engineers.
So much for the link between past performance and future success.
As you face life, sizing up the sometimes monumental gap between where you’ve been and where you hope to go—it is easy to shrink back from your challenges, calling to mind the failures and missteps of your past.
Don’t do it.
If James Dyson could go at it 5,127 times, you, and I, can certainly do the same.
In preparation, it’s important to align yourself with three important truths.
- Your Past Doesn’t Predict Your Future
- “Failure” Isn’t Fatal — Or Final
- Persistence Produces Profit
Your Past Doesn’t Predict Your Future
Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is to always try just one more time.” — Thomas Edison
If my supervisor’s contention had been correct — that one’s past predicted their future — James Dyson wouldn’t be where he is today. He’d be a kooky inventor chasing a pipe dream with nothing to show for his efforts.
Thankfully, my supervisor was not correct.
He was wrong.
All wrong.
James Dyson’s “failed” prototypes weren’t failures at all. They were lessons learned on the road to outstanding achievement — and proof of his persistence.
Failure Isn’t Final — Or Fatal.
“Paralyze resistance with persistence.” — Woody Hayes
Failure is a dangerous word. We throw it around, too freely most times, allowing it to define who we are, what we’ve done, and what our future holds.
The dictionary defines failure as “the lack of success.”
Clearly, that definition suggests to us a question.
What is success?
Is it executing a thing perfectly, even the first time out?
To examine the concept further, consider the following scenario.
Josh is 10 months old, and well accomplished at crawling and pulling up. He scoots around the house all day long, wreaking havoc and inspiring delight as he goes.
A chair knocked down here.
A placemat thrown to the floor there.
A cup of milk splashed across the coffee table somewhere else.
It is joy. It is mayhem.
As the young adventurer shows off his growing ambulatory skills, Papa knows that Josh is just about ready to launch out into the deep waters of toddling.
It is time for Josh to walk.
So, with hopeful, steady hands, Papa scoops baby up and onto his feet one bright and sunny afternoon — and he coaches his little man to put one foot in front of the other.
With great eagerness of heart, Josh does launch out…
and splat.
He falls, face first, onto the floor.
Once Papa scoops him up, and sets him back on his feet, Josh tries it all over again, and…
splat…
kaboom…
big ouchie.
Question.
Did Josh fail, or did he succeed?
In the strictest sense, Josh failed. And painfully so.
But in a broader — and I would argue, more balanced sense — he succeeded. And with panache.
Josh boldly tried to do something which he had never done before. And though he did not execute properly the first time — or the second, third, and fourth time — he kept getting up, and he kept trying, again, and again.
In truth, Josh’s willingness to keep getting up is the one thing that really matters.
And, one day, as long as he keeps on trying…
he will walk…
he will run…
he will jump.
I recently read the story of a man named Mike Thompson.
Though there was a time in life when Mike looked like a “failure,” he was nothing of the sort.
“Growing up, I was not only extremely shy, but I also had a severe speech impediment resulting in a very limited view of what I was capable of achieving. Realizing I’d never reach any of my goals if I didn’t learn how to effectively share my ideas and make connections with people, at the age of 23, I did the thing that scared me the most: I pursued a job in the not-so-shy world of sales.
As expected, the first few months hurt. Hang-ups happened often. So did jabs from my peers. But I stuck with it. And over time, something interesting happened: I built a serious knack for connecting with people and within my first calendar year I broke into the Top Ten of a triple-digit salesforce before being promoted to management.”
Today, Mike is wildly successful at what he does — and making an excellent living teaching others to do the same.
As Mike’s story proves, “failure” is not fatal — or final.
Persistence Produces Profit
“My greatest point is my persistence. I never give up in a match. However down I am, I fight until the last ball. My list of matches shows that I have turned a great many so-called irretrievable defeats into victories.” — Bjorn Borg
At this juncture, the James Dyson story deserves another look.
I mentioned his $900,000 debt, and his worldwide business , but I left out a bunch of what happened in between.
With 5,126 prototypes and one finished vacuum under his belt, Dyson went about the business of licensing his product. He approached manufacturers all over the globe in an effort to find a partner that would take his vacuum to market — and pay him for his efforts.
Much to Dyson’s surprise, the Big Boys in the vacuum industry wanted nothing to do with his super spiffy cyclone machine. Not because it wasn’t a good idea, because it would destroy their decades-long investment in the old-school vacuum bag business.
Eventually, Dyson did find a company willing to sign a deal. Unfortunately, the organization backed out just before finalizing the arrangement. Later, Dyson found out why.
The company — Amway — decided to clone the technology for themselves.
Over the next five years, Dyson found himself embroiled in a messy legal battle, but ultimately emerged victorious.
Not too long afterward, another major corporation tried to swipe the design. In 2002, Hoover coughed up $4.2 million to Dyson as a result.
Through it all, Dyson has continued to sell, invent, and defend.
Today, he is the sole owner of Dyson, Inc., with assets estimated at a cool one billion.
Brains are important.
Talent is great.
But without persistence, neither matters much.
Call To Action
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