I was just being interviewed for a magazine and the journalist asked me to sum up the reason for my success in one word. I had to think about it for a minute. A one word description for everything I've been through in the past 15 years was tough. Then I thought back to when I first moved away from my hometown and everything I owned fit into my Geo Storm. (A car I had for 8 years and 108,000 miles!)
I thought about how scared I was moving away from my family, friends, my steady job and everything familiar to me. I thought about how many times I cried and wanted to turn around and come home but didn't.
Then I started thinking about how I later moved to Florida, again, everything I owned fitting in that same Geo Storm. I started my fitness business and didn't really know what was going to happen, but knew it was what I wanted to do more than anything at the time. I called a Realtor to see if I could buy a little condo and her response was, "you'd be lucky to afford a car."
So how did I get from that Geo Storm to today? Perseverance. I looked up the word on dictionary.com and it fit my life so well I got goose bumps. Perseverance -steady persistence in a course of action, a purpose, a state, in spite of difficulties, obstacles or discouragement.
What if I would have turned that car around the first time I got scared and moved back to Bloomington? I have amazing friends and family, but I have no doubt that if I would not have persevered then I would not have travelled the world, proven to myself that I could get R.I.C.H, own homes across the country and have the experiences I have had. Life was never bad - I just never would have understood how amazing life can be and all the opportunities it has to offer. And how anything is possible.
Perseverance got me from the Geo to the Porsche. Perseverance got me from being broke to one of the top Realtors in
Naples, Florida I've been told "no" a thousand times, but I knew it would only take a couple "yes"s to get what I wanted. I've been laughed at, talked about, felt sorry for and insulted. But I knew that for every person that didn't think I was good enough, there was one who thought I was. And all those "no"s made me stronger and better and when I focused and persevered, I made over a million dollars in three quick years.
If you want a better life, whether it's better Relationships, Inner Peace, Cash or Health, (RICH) you can. But you can't give up on your goal or dream the first, or the second, or the 50th time it becomes ha
rd for you. You'll never know just how close you are to your dream if you turn your back on it!
Your Get R.I.C.H Action Step of the Day: Try again at something you've given up on. Try again to get that listing you've been turned down for or that friendship you've given up on, or those last 5 lbs you want to lose.
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Hi Mindy,
Great post! I think you're right on about perseverance. Even the Bible says it's not about entering the race, it's about finishing the race (paraphrase). Thanks for sharing.