Persevere to Perfection

The true test of a great live performing musician is consistency. Seeing someone do great once can leave a good impression, but when you’ve seen them three or four times and they are always delivering a stellar performance you know they are pros. Lots of people start out with momentum. The adrenaline is pumping through them and the desire to impress in high. Professional athletes get criticized for starting out this way as if it was luck that got them on a pro sports team. There was a ton of work involved. There is a small number of people who make it that far. There was sweat and tears over a long period of time to achieve what they have. Sometimes though, in the second year they aren’t doing so hot. This could be happening for a number of reasons. Think about something you’ve done or are doing. Have you ever started out strong and lost the drive after the initial excitement? Whether your an artist, athlete, or entrepreneur perseverance is 100% necessary to achieve your goals. Let’s look at how we can keep moving forward in the tough times.

Can you really reach perfection? Definitely not. Some may say so, but the ones who are very successful know they have plenty of room to improve and will not be satisfied with where they are at. Consistent effort also known as practice will move you much faster towards the goal you are trying to reach. Perseverance is the fuel that will enable you last far down the road.

Keep those who are successful in perspective. Analyze them and how they got to where they are. Learn as much as you can, but always remember they are human. They have failed an unknown amount of times in the past. They are tempted just like anyone else in the world. Don’t idolize them. Respect them for the hard work they’ve done. People refer to famous musicians, athletes, etc. as idols. They are not something to be worshiped. Look at how many of them royally sabotage their success. This has been very common among professional athletes recently. Musicians and actors have been more commonly known for this as well over the years. It’s saddening, but it is also reality. At some point their perspective went from continual progress towards their goal to idolizing themselves. As the old proverb goals, “pride comes before a fall.” I always hope these people make the most of their mistakes and get back up. They’ve gotten back up before in some way or another. I also know that we would want people to hope the best for us if and when we fall in big of small ways. Getting to a very successful place brings in different kinds of challenges that require a deliberate focus to keep the momentum going. It’s not like starting over, when getting things moving at all is tough. It’s more about not getting distracted and forgetting to maintain the work you’ve already done.

Here are a couple practice steps that I find helpful.

Don’t squander your time; check in with yourself on a daily basis. Are you plans for today going to support your goal or are they just activities?
Count the cost; be realistic about how much time, money, and energy it will take to get to where you want to be.
Plan accordingly; if the cost is high, then spread out the work. Test yourself to see what you can handle each day. But stay consistent everyday. Consistency will add up over time.
Start today; don’t procrastinate! It’s the opposite of perseverance because you haven’t even started.

To persevere will require the right mental focus. Having the right mental focus will require proper planning so you aren’t drained or overwhelmed. If you get the things done today you planned on you will feel better about tomorrow. The problem comes in when we try to do everything all at once. This is a part of our nature called impatience. We must be willing to wait for the results we want. If you paid someone to build your house you wouldn’t want them to do it all in one day. It would fall apart. But with the right plans and hard work done everyday the end result will be be worth the wait.