Beat Your Depression

How often do people just give up when they come to a hurdle in life? Too often I believe.

Hurdles are just stepping stones to success. Look at the portrait of an achiever below:-

PORTRAIT OF AN ACHIEVER

• Failed in Business – Bankruptcy, 1831

• Defeated for Legislature, 1832

• Sweetheart/Fiancee Dies, 1835

• Nervous Breakdown, 1836

• Defeated in Election, 1836

• Defeated for U.S. Congress, 1843

• Defeated again for U.S. Congress, 1846

• Defeated once again for U.S. Congress, 1848

• Defeated for U.S. Senate, 1855

• Defeated for U.S. Vice President, 1856

• Defeated again for U.S. Senate, 1858

• ABRAHAM LINCOLN

• Elected President of the U.S.A., 1860

Would you say that President Abraham Lincoln was a loser? Admittedly he did suffer from depression [see “You are not alone” free e-course] but he did not allow that to become an excuse to quit.

You cannot fail… unless you quit!”

Quitters never win and Winners never quit.

Remember the story of the tortoise and the hare and how the tortoise kept plodding along determinedly even though the competition was way ahead. He did not give up when all seemed lost but persevered and overtook the hare [competition] when the hare was sleeping and then the tortoise became a winner.

However, you do not have to come first to become a winner. I have noticed, on a couple of occasions, how a person who came second or third in a talent show on TV went on to become more successful than the person who won the event. Just because you did not come first does not mean that you are not talented or competent.

Look at the person who comes last in the finals of an Olympic swimming event. Do you think that person is a loser? No way! There were just 7 other people in the world that were better than him or her on the day. Look at all of the people who tried to even get to the Olympics, let alone qualify for the finals. Most of those people were also champions in there own rights.

Consider the person who came second in the final. The winning margin can often be measured in hundredths of a second. I consider the second place getter to still be a great athlete.

You too can be great at what you do if you persevere. You can still be a winner without coming first. Let us say that you develop a business where you have scores of competitors ahead of you financially, but you still make a net profit of $5 million per year and growing. Would you consider yourself to be a loser? This shows that you do not have to be the best to be a winner.

Below is a poem and a quotation that I have kept handy for many years to keep my mind on track when it sometimes wanders.

DON’T QUIT

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,

When the road you’re trudging seems all uphill,

When the funds are low and the debts are high,

And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,

When care is pressing you down a bit,

Rest if you must, but don’t quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns,

As every one of us sometimes learns;

And many a person turns about

When they might have won had they stuck it out.

Don’t give up though the pace seems slow,

You may succeed with another blow.

Often the struggler has given up

When he might have captured the victor’s cup;

And he learned too late when the night came down,

How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out,

The silver lining in the seeds of doubt,

And you can never tell how close you are,

It may be near when it seems so far.

So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit.

It’s when things go wrong that you must not quit

 

 

PRESS ON

Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence.

Talent will not.

Nothing is more common than unsuccessful individuals with talent.

Genius will not.

Unrewarded genius is almost a proverb.

Education will not.

The world is full of educated derelicts.

PERSISTENCE AND DETERMINATION ALONE ARE OMNIPOTENT.