The Power Of Persistence In Your Career

There is a framed photo on my desk of a runner out for a run in a beautiful field with mountainous views. The photo says, “Persistence – The race goes not only to the swift but to those who keep running.” I love this photo because it reminds me to be persistent in the pursuit of my goals and dreams. When we are persistent, we act with conviction, and that energy draws us toward those people and events that help our dreams come to fruition. Even if they don’t show up exactly how we want or think they should or, we are met with obstacles and roadblocks along the way, it is the persistent pursuit of our goals that will eventually bring them into reality. This also holds true for our career goals. A great example of this happened with two of my colleagues who were seeking promotion opportunities inside their companies. In fact, they both had the same goal of reaching the highest-level sales position inside their (different) organizations. One colleague gave her pursuit approximately two years, and when he did not see the results he was seeking, he decided to pursue a different goal and left his company to start his own marketing consultation business. Two years later, his consulting business had not yet grown to the level he desired so he abandoned it. He went back to his original goal of seeking a high-level sales position inside another large corporation. He is 18 months into that job and I recently found out he is, again, not seeing his upward movement happen fast enough so he’s beginning to consider alternate opportunities. Since setting the original goal to reach the highest-level sales position in his company, my other colleague has been in several different roles in his company (all sales related). He continues to broaden his knowledge of all sectors of his company and all their different customers in his pursuit of his ultimate goal. He has had some missteps and has taken a few steps backwards as he grown over the past few years, but he has not gotten discouraged. Some of his greatest learning has come from some of his low points. He knows the more he perseveres and the more he succeeds in his current assignments, the closer he gets to his ultimate goal. He has reached the position of Sales Director, which is several levels above where he was when he first began to consciously pursue this goal. This demonstrates his continued positive progression along his career path. Even events that seem like obstacles or that could be perceived as “slowing him down” do not discourage or derail him. He knows all the assignments and new learning are grooming him for the highest-level sales position. He also believes, despite how much he wants to reach that position in his current company, if it doesn't happen where he is presently working, it will happen somewhere else. He does not lose sight of his ultimate desire and he keeps persisting and pursuing because he knows the race will go to he who keeps on running. I love this story of his dedication and persistence. It is a reminder to us to never lose sight of where we want to go and to never stop persevering. If we are committed and persistent and open to the variety of possibilities and paths that will take us to our desired place, one day we will wake up and realize that we have reached that ultimate goal. Why? Because we kept on going. Careerealism