The sustained effort necessary to induce faith

PERSISTENCE

Persistence is an essential factor in the procedure of transmuting desire into its monetary equivalent. The basis of persistence is the power of will. Willpower and desire, when properly combined, make an irresistible pair.

People who accumulate great fortunes are generally known as cold-blooded and sometimes ruthless. Often they are misunderstood. What they have is willpower, which they mix with persistence and use as the basis of their desires to ensure the attainment of their objectives.

Henry Ford has been generally misunderstood to be ruthless and cold-blooded. This misconception grew out of Ford's habit of following through all of his plans with persistence.

The majority of people are ready to throw their aims and purposes overboard, and give up at the first sign of opposition or misfortune. A few carry on despite all opposition until they attain their goal. These few are the Ford's, Carnegies, Rockefellers and Edisons.

There may be no heroic connotation to the word 'persistence', but the quality is to character what carbon is to steel. If you are reading this post with the intention of applying the knowledge it conveys, the first test of your persistence will come when you begin to follow the six steps described in DESIRE.

Unless you are one of the two out of every hundred who already have a definite goal at which you are aiming and a definite plan for its attainment, you may read the instructions and then carry on with your daily routine, never complying with those instructions.

Lack of persistence is one of the major causes of failure. Moreover, experience with people has proved that lack of persistence is a weakness common to majority of people. It is a weakness that may be overcome by effort. The ease with which lack of persistence may be conquered will depend entirely upon the intensity of one's desire.

The starting point of all achievement is desire. Keep this constantly in mind. Weak desires bring weak results, just as a small amount of fire makes a small amount of heat. If you find yourself lacking in persistence, this weakness may be remedied by building a stronger fire under your desires.

Continue to read through to the end, then go back to my post on DESIRE and start immediately to carry out the instructions given in the six steps.

The eagerness with which you follow these instructions will indicate clearly how much, or how little, you really desire to accumulate money. If you find that you are indifferent, you may be sure that you have not yet acquired the 'money consciousness' which you must possess before you can be sure of accumulating a fortune.

Fortunes gravitate to people whose minds have been prepared to 'attract' them, just surely as water gravitates to the ocean.

Poverty is attracted to the one whose mind is favourable to it, as money is attracted to one whose mind has been deliberately prepared to attract it, and through the same laws. POVERTY CONSCIOUSNESS WILL VOLUNTARILY SEIZE THE MIND THAT IS NOT OCCUPIED WITH MONEY CONSCIOUSNESS.

A poverty consciousness develops without conscious application of habits favourable to it. The money consciousness must be created to order, unless one is born with such a consciousness.

Catch the full significance of the statements in the preceding paragraph and you will understand the importance of persistence in the accumulation of a fortune. Without persistence, you will be defeated, even before you start. With persistence you will win.

If you have ever experienced a nightmare, you will realise the value of persistence.
You are lying in bed, half awake, with a feeling that you are about to suffocate. You are unable to turn over or to move a muscle. You realise you must begin to regain control over your muscles. Through persistent effort of willpower, you finally manage to move the fingers of one hand. By continuing to move your fingers, you extend your control to the muscles of one arm, until you can lift it.

Then you gain control of the other arm in the same manner. You finally gain control over the muscles of one leg, and then extend it to the other leg. THEN WITH ONE SUPREME EFFORT OR WILL, you regain complete control over your muscular system, and 'snap' out of your nightmare. The trick has been turned step by step.
  You may find it necessary to 'snap' out of your mental inertia through a similar procedure, moving slowly at first, then increasing your speed until you gain complete control over your will. Be persistent no matter how slowly you may, at first, have to move. WITH PERSISTENCE WILL COME SUCCESS.


Every failure brings with it the seed of an equivalent advantage. Persistence is a state of mind, so it can be cultivated. Like all States of mind, persistence is based upon definite causes, including:

1. DEFINITENESS OF PURPOSE. Knowing what you want is the first and, perhaps, the most important step towards the development of persistence. A strong motive forces you to surmount many difficulties.
2. DESIRE. It is comparatively easy to acquire and maintain persistence in pursuing the object of intense desire.
3. SELF-RELIANCE. Belief in your ability to carry out a plan encourages you to follow the plan through with persistence. 
4. DEFINITENESS OF PLANS. Organised plans, even though they may be weak and entirely impractical, encourage persistence.
5. ACCURATE KNOWLEDGE. KKnowing that your plans are sound, based upon experience or observation, encourages persistence; 'guessing' instead of 'knowing' destroys persistence.
6. COOPERATION. Sympathy, understanding and harmonious cooperation with others tend to develop persistence.
7. WILLPOWER. The habit of concentrating your thoughts upon the building of plans for the attainment of a definite purpose leads to persistence.

HABIT. Persistence is the direct result of habit. The mind absorbs and becomes a part of daily experiences upon which it feeds. Fear, the worst of all enemies,can be effectively cured by forced repetition of acts of courage. Everyone who has seen active service in war knows this.

Before leaving the subject of persistence, take an inventory of yourself. Determine in what particular, if any, you are lacking in this essential quality. Measure yourself courageously, point by point, and see how many of the eight factors of persistence you lack. The analysis may lead to discoveries that will give you a new grip on yourself.

Causes of persistence have been talked about, now let's see the symptoms of lack of persistence where you will find the real enemies that stand between you and noteworthy achievement. Here you will find not only the 'symptoms' indicating weakness of persistence, but also the deeply seated subconscious causes of this weakness.
Study the list carefully and face yourself squarely IF YOU REALLY WISH TO KNOW WHO YOU ARE AND WHAT YOU ARE CAPABLE OF DOING.

Symptoms of Lack of Persistence
These are the weakness that must be mastered by all who accumulate riches.

1. Failure to recognise and clearly define exactly what you want.
2. Procrastination, with or without cause(usually backed up with a formidable array of alibis and excuses).
3. Lack of interest in acquiring specialised knowledge.
4. Indecision, the habit of 'passing the buck' on all occasions, instead of facing issues squarely(also backed by alibis).
5. The habit of relying upon alibis instead of creating definite plans for the solution of problems.
6. Self-satisfaction. There is but little remedy for this affliction, and no hope for those who suffer from it.
7. Indifference, usually reflected in your readiness to compromise on all occasions, rather than meet opposition and fight it.
8. The habit of blaming others for your mistakes, and accepting unfavourable circumstances as being unavoidable.
9. Weakness of desire due to neglect in the choice of motives that impel action.
10. Willingness, even eagerness, to quit at the first sign of defeat(based upon one or more of the six basic fears).
11. Lack of organised plans, placed in writing where they may be analysed.
12. The habit of neglecting to move on ideas, or to grasp opportunity when it presents itself.
13. Wishing instead of willing. 
14. The habit of compromising with poverty instead of aiming at riches - a general absence of ambition to be, to do and to own.
15. Searching for all the short-cuts to riches, trying to get without giving a fair equivalent, usually reflected in the habit of gambling or endeavouring to drive 'sharp' bargains.
16. Fear of criticism, failure to create plans and to put them into action because of what other people will think, do or say.