Think And Grow Rich – Persistence – Lessons From Chapter 9

On November 3, 2010, in Blog Series, Book Reviews, Financial intelligence in MLM, Lessons from Think and grow rich, Mental Cleanse, Personal development in MLM, Think and grow rich, Think and grow rich, by Oliver

Previous lesson plan: Think And Grow Rich – Decision – Lessons From Chapter 8

Think And Grow Rich – Persistence – Lessons From Chapter 9: THE SUSTAINED EFFORT NECESSARY TO INDUCE FAITH – The eigth step towards riches

If I have one of the qualities outlined by Napoleon Hill in chapters 2 to 9, then persistence. I probably have some more, but definitely persistence, not only because I am a former marathon runner.

At the age of 23, I took the decision out of the blue, to run my first marathon. Up till then, I had always been inclined to long-distance running, but not to run 42.195 km/26.2 miles. I took the decision in January 1994, started right away with training and registered for the race in Nuremberg in July. This one was cancelled by the organizer, so I had to find another event, one week later in Black Forest, a mountain run instead of a city run.

Time was 3:20 hours. In automn of the same year, I did another one, this time in town, in 3:10 hours.

Well, after this race, unavoidably, the 3 hour mark came into view. I took the decision to do this classical distance under 3 hours.

In 1995, I did one in Munich, and I failed to reach my goal, I suffered from back ache. However, I finished.

In 1996, I did one in April of this year, and I finished in 3:05 hours. While this is definitely a good time, I failed to reach my goal.

In the same year, I did another one in September, in Berlin, together with my dad and my future father-in-law. It was pretty much a family event, my aunt and uncle live in Berlin, so we slept there.

On Saturday, the day before the race, I got sick, I vomited and could hardly eat anything. I lay in bed and was wondering if that was the end of my marathon dreams.

I fell asleep, got up early in the morning on Sunday and felt fit. Great ! My dad, my father-in-law and I took the underground to the city and prepared for the race, together with 25,000 other people.

Long story short, I finished in 2:57 hours.

That is not the end of the story. I ran less and less in the following years when I took another decision in 2005, nearly 10 years later: I will run a marathon again, and after a few weeks of training, I took the decision to top my best time from Berlin.

That’s when people around me started bothering me: I took running too seriously, said some. That was true, but so what ? I lost more than 10 kg/22 lbs in a short period of time and looked too meagre. That was also true, but so what ?

I ran the Black Forest marathon in automn 2005 in 3:13 hours. That was OK, but then the true burning desire set in. I knew that I could make my new personal best time.

I registered for Mannheim in May 2006 which was cancelled by the organizers when all runners were ready to start, due to a huge thunderstorm that rushed through the city and uprooted trees. Pumped up with carbs and adrenaline, that was like a coitus interruptus. I felt like a failure.

A day later, everything was OK again, I registered for a half-marathon two weeks later, and finished in 1:23 hours.

In September 2006, I ran in Karlsruhe and eventually finished in 2:53 hours, 4 minutes faster than 10 years before in Berlin. I was thrilled.

Some lessons came in 2007, when I changed my plans back and forth several times because I was sick and couldn’t do the training appropriately, so were my thoughts at least.

I registered again for Mannheim, it was like a revenge for the cancellation a year before.

It was very hot, and on the first kilometers, I said to myself: “Those will be punished who run too fast at the beginning.” This is the Golden Rule of marathon, and I neglected it this time, and I was suffering. I finished in 2:59 hours which is still remarkable, but I was suffering. My body was rebelling, and it took me two weeks to completely recover from that.

So what the hell has this story got to do with “Think and grow rich” ?

Well, I had burning desire, faith, an organized plan and above all persistence, in the true meaning of the word. Troubles started in spring 2007 when I changed my plans voluntarily, simply because I thought I wasn’t able to do the proper training. I became “victim” of the circumstances, instead of following through despite the circumstances.

Above all, I have always been looking for a similar recipe in business, in analogy to the marathon training: I follow a plan, a recipe – that’s something I am extremely good at – and everything else falls into place, no matter what the circumstances are and how long it eventually takes.

I didn’t find this recipe for my traditional financial consulting business, but I found this recipe in network marketing, the awesome Mentoring for Free-system and the Mental Cleanse.

I will follow through – with burning desire, faith and persistence, no matter how long it takes and how many thunderstorms may uproot trees.

Thank you Michael and Linda.

To be continued…Think and grow rich – Power of the mastermind – Lessons from chapter 10.

So what is your opinion ? I always love your feedback, so please leave me a comment down below with questions, thoughts, or feedback. And (yes, here’s my call to action) please share this post with your Twitter and Facebook friends by clicking on the share buttons below. I appreciate you telling others.

To a prosperous life,

Oliver Tausend
+49 1512 9125216 (Germany/outside US)
+1 201 984 5664 (US)
Skype ID: guernsey2016
wordpress@olivertausend.com
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18 Responses to “Think And Grow Rich – Persistence – Lessons From Chapter 9”

Josh - Generate Free Leads says:

November 3, 2010 at 20:11

Hey Oliver,

You are the first person that really takes “Think and Grow Rich” principles to heart. I could learn a good lesson from you.

Chat with you later…
Josh
Josh – Generate Free Leads recently posted..How To Make Money Offline Using Internet Marketing Skills

[Reply]
Oliver Reply:
November 4th, 2010 at 01:01
Hi Josh,

thanks for your comment. Why “could” ?

Take care

Oliver

[Reply]

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Gerald Gigerl says:

November 3, 2010 at 21:48

Hey mein deutscher Freund, this post showed me that you´re super passionate about running and I want to encourage you to continue with this journey.

I wanted to go for a half-marathon but I broke up because I wasn´t passionate about it anymore. I trained every single day at least 1x, but if you feel that it´s not your thing and you loose focus because of lack of passion, than you should try something else.

You´re great and I´m grateful to have a business partner like you!

Talk in a bit,

Gerald

[Reply]
Oliver Reply:
November 4th, 2010 at 01:01
Hi Gerald,

I will continue running, but I won’t do marathons any more, at least not the way I used to do them, that means with 100-120 km training per week.

I’m also grateful that we found each other.

Thanks for your comment.

Take care

Oliver

[Reply]

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Ana/Traffic Generation Cafe
Twitter: AnaTrafficCafe
says:

November 4, 2010 at 04:46

Hello Oliver,

Another great and inspiring post you have here. I am looking forward for more. Persistence is indeed one of the secret in attaining success. Sometimes even if your goal seems like impossible to achieve for some reason, if you will not give up and just continue to move forward, you will surely reach the top and succeed. This is one characteristic that we must also apply in this business because I believe that those who are truly persistent are the only few people who will be left in the long run. So let’s continue to have a persistent spirit and be one of the few.

Cheers,

Ana
Ana/Traffic Generation Cafe recently posted..How Twitter Traffic Generation Became My Largest Source of Referral Traffic- Lessons to Share

[Reply]
Oliver Reply:
November 5th, 2010 at 00:26
Hi Ana,

lack of persistence is the reason why so many people fail in this industry, there’s always the temptation of instant gratification.

It’s definitely not the lack of good training why people fail…there’s plenty of good stuff out there, even for free. It’s lack of persistence.

You want more ? Happy to hear that…there are still 6 chapters to cover.

Thanks for your comment.

Take care

Oliver

[Reply]

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Mavis Nong
Twitter: MavisNong
says:

November 4, 2010 at 14:25

Hey Oliver,

What an inspiring post! Why do people fail to reach their goals? It’s because they don’t have a burning desire to succeed and they are not persistent enough to deal with whatever comes their way.

You are a perfect example of remaining persistent on your journey to success. Keep going!

Thanks for the inspiration.

All the best,
Mavis Nong
Mavis Nong recently posted..10 Effective Ways to Get More Blog Subscribers

[Reply]
Oliver Reply:
November 5th, 2010 at 00:21
Hi Mavis,

thank you for your appreciative comment. As I said, if I had only one single quality, it would be persistence

Thanks for stopping by.

Take care

Oliver

[Reply]

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Hector Cuevas says:

November 4, 2010 at 20:46

Hey Oliver..

This is a great post man. I totally agree that persistence is everything. The key to being successful is having that ability to keep going and keep moving forward no matter how hard things get

thanks for sharing
Hector
Hector Cuevas recently posted..BBP 001 – Starting A Blog- Getting Visitors &amp Making Them Stick With Yaro Starak

[Reply]
Oliver Reply:
November 5th, 2010 at 00:18
Hi Hector,

it’s really the key to keep going no matter what, thanks for your reminder.

Thanks for stopping by.

Take care

Oliver

[Reply]

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Rob Franta says:

November 4, 2010 at 22:27

Oliver I would say that is a very true example of persistence and also a never give up attitude. It’s amazing that you accomplished what you did 10 years later and 10 years older. Kudos to you.

This was a very inspiring read and I thank you for taking the time to share it with us.

Rob
Rob Franta recently posted..The Law of- “What Do You Want More”

[Reply]
Oliver Reply:
November 5th, 2010 at 00:17
Hi Rob,

thanks for your appreciative comment. It seems that you can get better in this discipline when getting older…

Take care

Oliver

[Reply]

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Peter Fuller MBA
Twitter: prfuller
says:

November 5, 2010 at 21:31

Hey Oliver

What a great story.

I could imagine the pain once you hit mile 20 and how your strong desire got you over the finish line.

Persistence is being able to continue on with your business even when you feel like quitting.

Now it is hard to belive but when I was a university student working in Toronto I would get up every morning and run 5k before work, even in winter.

It was a great way to start the day, it energized me.

Thanks for the story Oliver.

Peter
Peter Fuller MBA recently posted..Long Term Unemployed on 60 Minutes – Are you feeling desperate

[Reply]
Oliver Reply:
November 6th, 2010 at 10:44
Hi Peter,

thanks for stopping by. Running in the morning is really an energetic way to start the day, definitely.

When I restarted my marathon training in 2005, it caused me pain too when I ran 20 km (!) – not miles – and was totally exhausted. That wasn’t even the half the distance…

You nail it, by the way, quitting is more a feeling than real.

Thanks again for sharing you insights.

Take care

Oliver

[Reply]

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Elmar Sandyck says:

November 6, 2010 at 05:05

Hi Oliver,

How’ve you been? This post of yours is such an inspiring tale, as you would call it about “burning desire, faith and persistence, no matter how long it takes and how many thunderstorms may uproot trees.”

In all things, be it running or running a business, we all have good days and not-so-good days. The important thing is for us to keep the faith and just move on without losing sight of our focus.

So, I join you in this unending quest to success!

Cheers!

/
Elmar Sandyck recently posted..The Google to Facebook Shift

[Reply]
Oliver Reply:
November 6th, 2010 at 10:35
Hi Elmar,

thanks for stopping by. Running and running a business, that’s an analogy I haven’t thought of yet…awesome, thanks for the reminder.

I am glad that you find my story inspiring, it’s amazing what a decision followed by taking action can do…

Take care

Oliver

[Reply]

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Heather C Stephens
Twitter: stephensheather
says:

November 10, 2010 at 23:23

You inspire me, Oliver!

Thank you for sharing your journey with us here. I agree that we have to have a no matter how long it takes kind of an approach to our business, as well as anything else we want to accomplish…teaching our kids something new, learning a new language, etc. I feel like so many times in this instant gratification world we live in, the no matter how long it takes mindset is hard to find.

You’re an inspiration!
Heather
Heather C Stephens recently posted..Self Discipline for Success in Your Network Marketing Home Based Business

[Reply]

Reply
Oliver says:

November 12, 2010 at 00:11

Hi Heather,

it’s 7 minutes after midnight, and you made my day, more than 24 hours after posting your comment, thank you. I’m grateful to be an inspiriation for you.

In order to be successful in a marathon, a lot of factors have to fall into place – internal factors which we were able to control and external factors we are not able to control, like the weather. The same holds true for any type of business.

We have to learn what we can control and what we cannot control. Being persistent makes only sense with aspects we can control.

Thanks again for your inspirational comment.

Take care

Oliver

[Reply]

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