Perseverance

And today, a contribution from our financieer / entrepreneur in residence:
I am a bit of a World War II buff. My interest in this war only started a few years ago, but in this short time I have read a almost every book about it. As a matter of fact, I have such an interest in the war that while honeymooning in Paris, we took a detour to see the sites of the Normandy landings. I have read about the great generals, seen most of the movies and talked with experts.
In my readings, I noticed that there was a common thread in every book I read….a common theme (aside from the war of course).
Most of the soldiers stories were the SAME. Yeah, the details may change, but the story was generally the same.
Here is how the common theme worked:
1. The allies would make an advance. They would win, but stretch themselves and their suppliers thin.
2. Local platoon commanders would send messages high up asking for resources, rest, materials, etc.
3. Sometimes they got their requests. More often they did not. But the returning message always included a terse note that told the poor soldiers to “Get up, pick up their weapons…and by golly….get going. Don’t stop….not now”
Even though circumstances and conditions were always less than perfect – all generals sang the same song. Get Up. Get Going and Win. Complain later. But for the time being, get going.
There is something to be said about dog headed perseverance. And that is, if you persevere you usually win. I have seen this in my own experience time and time again. Yes, conditions may not be perfect. But they never are. The true leaders recognize that and still move forward to reach their objective.
I have seen this in my life and my business time and time again. You need to persevere if you want to win. Many times, perseverance is more important than luck, technical knowledge or even funding. History is full of folks that had things going against them, yet they persevered and created huge things (Carnegie, Ford, etc.).
So, the next time that you are facing a challenge where the road is long and the odds seem against you, remember that if you persevere … don’t complain..(at least not now) , and just get up and get going… you’ll have a good chance at winning.
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Marco Terry owns a factoring company that specializes in factoring invoices, medical factoring and purchase order financing.
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