Never give up. There are always positives in any situation, and one reason I’ve remained resilient is because I choose to see the bright side of situations. People who know me and work with me know that my persona of optimism isn’t a façade--it’s for real.
I want to emphasize how valuable that approach is if you intend to be successful. Your attitude is also your altitude--and the higher your frequency, the greater your results will be. That doesn’t mean it will happen overnight.
As you might know by now, I like to read about the greats in history and one of my favorites is Abraham Lincoln. Look at this list of his endeavors, all of which led him to becoming President and one of the great men in history:
In 1831, he failed in business. He ran for the Illinois General Assembly the following year. He was defeated, so he started another business and failed. In 1834, he was elected to the state legislature, but in 1836 he suffered a nervous breakdown after his sweetheart died. In 1838, 1840, and 1843 respectively, he ran for speaker of the state legislature, elector and Congress, and he was defeated each time.
In 1846, he was elected to Congress, but when he ran for Congress again in 1848, he was defeated. He ran for Senate in 1855 and was defeated, and the next year he sought the vice-presidential nomination and was defeated, receiving less than 100 votes. But here was a man who refused to give up. In 1860 he ran for President--and won.
Lincoln was obviously well acquainted with adversity but he just kept at it. He remained resilient. Let’s learn from his example and keep our focus and our goals intact.
