Achieving goals requires perseverance.
Here’s proof: In 1915, Ty Cobb established an astonishing baseball record for stealing 96 bases. Seven years later, Max Curry posted the second-best record with 51 stolen bases.
Was Cobb twice as good as Curry?
Consider this: Cobb made 134 attempts. 53- Nora.
So Curry’s average was much better.
However, Cobb made 81 more attempts and was rewarded with 44 more stolen bases.
Frank Bettiger makes this strong point on page 238 of his great classic:
How I raised myself from failure to success in selling
When you get behind the great success stories in any given field, you often find that the most successful have made more attempts and spent more hours on the given task than anyone else.
In other words, they give the law of averages a chance to work in their favor! They keep writing off, often against all odds.
With goals achieved, this excellent quality of perseverance, and the tenacity of a bed mate, is absolutely essential.
Yes, the previous 6 steps are also necessary and crucial, but if you don’t stick with it, your great plan can go downhill. Your vivid mental images can evaporate into thin air. Achieving goals simply becomes wishful thinking.
Achieving goals requires that you keep doing it day in and day out.
Then you are guaranteed results – after all!
mental toughness
To maintain that kind of momentum, you have to develop mental toughness.
Being mentally strong means that you minimize the effects of frustration and turn negatives into positives.
Jack Black, in his illuminating book MindStore, uses a computer expression to combat negativity – “Delete this program”.
Whenever a negative thought comes to your mind or when others make negative comments, tell yourself, “Delete this program” and replace it with a positive thought.
For example, when you find yourself thinking, “This just doesn’t work, this is useless and a waste of time,” work up your mental toughness by saying, “Delete this program.”
Instead, think: “What do I need to do to make this work!”
Admittedly, negative mental habits are hard to break.
It takes time and perseverance but oh, the rewards when you do!
The remaining 90%
Do we understand, then, why the title of this last session is:
“Achieving goals: the remaining 90% – sheer determination”?
It’s really about that.
Just keep going, keep going, keep going, keep going, and let the good old law of averages work for you.
Achieving goals will become your reality!