Mr. Achievement - Stanley F. Bronstein - Personal Development BlogPersonal Development Blog of the Founder of the Achievement IQ Movement and Creator of the Laws of Positioning

THIS POST IS THE FIRST IN A NEW SERIES OF ARTICLES SUGGESTED BY MY TWITTER FOLLOWERS
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Your toughness is made up of equal parts persistence and experience. You don’t so much outrun your opponents as outlast and outsmart them, and the toughest opponent of all is the one inside your head. (Joe Henderson)

Inspiration

Today’s post was inspired by Tony Jansen through Twitter who can be reached at:

http://twitter.com/rantonov

A Few Definitions

Toughness - Strong and durable; not easily broken or cut. Not brittle or tender. Capable of great endurance; sturdy; hardy.

Equal - Like or alike in quantity, degree, value.

Persistence - Continued existence or occurrence. To continue steadfastly or firmly in some state, purpose, course of action, or the like, esp. in spite of opposition, remonstrance, etc..

Experience - A particular instance of personally encountering or undergoing something. The process or fact of personally observing, encountering, or undergoing something.

Outrun - To exceed; excel; surpass.

Opponents - A person who is on an opposing side in a game, contest, controversy, or the like. Being opposite, as in position. Contrary or radically different in some respect common to both, as in nature, qualities, direction, result, or significance; opposed.

Outlast - To endure or last longer than.

Outsmart - To get the better of (someone); outwit.

Toughest - The strongest. The most durable.

Your Head - Your mind. What is inside of you. What there is that is an essential part of your being.

Source: Dictionary.com

What Does All This Mean?

It means that many people have the power to start something. It is only the most persistent and toughest among us who will see it through all the way to the end . . . and beyond.

Life is not easy. Success is not easy. Being a high achiever is not easy. HOWEVER, if it was easy, EVERYONE would be doing it.

What Do My Friends Say About Me?

They tell me that I am, beyond a shadow of a doubt, the most persistent person they have ever met. Now mind you, I’m not saying I’m stubborn, I’m saying that I’m persistent.

Please look at the definitions below to understand the difference between the two.

Stubborn - Fixed or set in purpose or opinion; resolute. Unreasonably obstinate; obstinately unmoving.

Persistence - Continued existence or occurrence. To continue steadfastly or firmly in some state, purpose, course of action, or the like, esp. in spite of opposition, remonstrance, etc..

To me, the difference is that stubborn people hold to their opinions so strongly that they often become UNREASONABLE.

The word unreasonable is what makes the difference.

Unreasonable - Not reasonable or rational; acting at variance with or contrary to reason; not guided by reason or sound judgment; irrational.

What Am I Suggesting?

I’m suggesting that you should stick your guns, NO MATTER WHAT, up to a certain point. That point is what I will refer to as the level of reasonableness. Once you become unreasonable; once you become unsound; once you become irrational; once your judgment is no longer sound, THAT IS THE POINT WHERE YOU SHOULD STOP.

Until then, EVERYTHING goes. You should believe in yourself 100% of the time. You should believe in your ideas 100% of the time. BUT, if you reach the point where YOU (not others around you), realize that your judgment may be wrong, THEN YOU SHOULD CONSIDER WHETHER OR NOT YOU SHOULD STOP.

THEN AND ONLY THEN !!!

Go The Distance

The most successful people are the ones who did NOT give up when they encountered problems. Heck, we ALL encounter problems. That is a normal part of human existence. The trick is to stick to your guns and to persist, NO MATTER WHAT.