Home | Business

Persistence 

Here's a quote by Dale Carnegie. "Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all."

When there's no hope at all, most people think 'the end'. For me, and my fellow persuaders, this signals a challenge, an opportunity, a call to action. I believe there is always hope.

Many years ago I had a cat who was the very embodiment of persistence. In my living room I had an antique armoire that was too low for this cat to crawl under but just perfect for a mouse to hide under.

There was a spell of time when this cat sat guard next to this piece of furniture all day and night watching and waiting for a mouse who had taken shelter there.

My cat had a goal that he was going to attain no matter how long he had to wait. He eventually caught it and played with it for hours while strutting around proudly show his prize to us.

And after the mouse was sent off to mouse heaven (we had a small ceremony with the kids in the back yard), the cat often remained vigilant in that corner despite there being no other mice in the house. I like to think that as he sat there, he was reliving his victory and hoping for another opportunity to show what he was made of.

Persistence is key in persuasion. Your success rate is increased incredibly with persuasion. Follow up, follow through. Place that second or third call, don't accept no as an answer.

Excelling in persistence requires intention, objective and desire. Get these ingredients percolating within you for when you need the energy of an extra push.

This requires a clear mindset. Self doubt and negativity have NEVER helped you or served you well in life. Banish this outdated conditioning from your life immediately.

Seek the encouragement of friends, coworkers, allies, family.

With all that said, there's a point of diminishing return and if you've spent a sufficient time being persistent and it has proved futile then by all means, give up. There is no point at all in beating the proverbial dead horse. Your time is worth money and when you come to an impasse, it's time to cut your losses.

In closing, I'll leave you with a W.C. Fields quote: "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. Then quit. No use being a damn fool about it."

Article Source: http://www.uberarticles.com/articles

Kenrick Cleveland teaches strategies to earn the business of affluent clients using persuasion. He runs public and private seminars and offers home study courses and coaching programs in persuasion strategies. Don't reprint this article. Instead, reprint a free unique content version of this same article.

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License, which means you may freely reprint it, in its entiretly, provided you include the author's resource box along with LIVE VISIBLE links (without "nofollow" tags).