I admire persistent people. People who don’t quit. People who face failure with a “you don’t have the final say about me” attitude.

Did you know that Walt Disney — who created “the happiest place on earth” — was fired by a newspaper editor because “he lacked imagination and had no good ideas”?

How about Winston Churchill, who won a Nobel Prize and was twice elected Prime minister of the United Kingdom? He didn’t do well in school and failed sixth grade.

Oscar-winning actor Sindey Poitier was told this after his first audtion: “Why don’t you stop wasting people’s time and go out and wash dishes or something?”

Twenty seven publishers rejected Theodor Seuss Geisel’s, a.k.a. Dr. Seuss, first book.

Michael Jordan, often considered the best basketball player of all time, was cut from his high school basketball team.

Reading how these famously successful people failed at first encourages me when I’m faced with my own times of struggle, of things not going the way I’d hoped. Of failling to meet my goals.

I have two choices: Quit … of keep going.

I may take a breather for a while — there’s nothing wrong with catching your breath, reevaluating. But then it’s time for a little more persistence, a little more effort … and aiming for glorious succes.

In Your Words: Where are you today? Staring at a what seems like hopeless failure? Or about to embrace that long-awaited glorious success? What does persistence look like to you? Do you have a favorite failure to success story?

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