Perseverance
My dad use to say, “All good things come to those who wait”. He probably said that to me more than any of my sisters because I tended to want something and want it “now”. I admit I am not good at the “waiting” game. However, I do feel as I have aged I have developed a little perseverance but I still have a long way to go in the “waiting” game of life.
I recall the story of Harlan Sanders better recognized as Colonel Sanders.
When he was 63 years old he had every right to feel like he was a victim but he became a victor instead. He owned a restaurant-motel-service station business which he had built up over the years. He was offered nearly $200,000 cash for the business, but he turned it down because he was not ready to retire. Two years later, the state built a new highway which bypassed his business and within a year Harlan had lost everything.
He was 65 years old, broke, and no income other than a small monthly Social Security check to live on. The only thing he knew how to do well was cook chicken. He decided that maybe he could sale that knowledge to someone else. So he packed up his old car with a pressure cooker and his special recipe and set out to sell his idea to others.
It was a tough road for him and he often slept in his car because he did not have enough money for a hotel. Restaurant after restaurant turned him down. He suffered over 300 rejections before someone believed in his dream.
A few years later he opened the first of what would become a very successful restaurant chain known as “Kentucky Fried Chicken”.
Harlan was quoted as saying, “Never quit at the age of 64, my success came when I was 65”.
It often seems me to perseverance is a quality that many of us need to develop in this life journey. We tend to live in a world that wants everything now rather than later. We do not like to wait!
Just think of the “fast food” industry. They first put in a “drive-thru” which was supposed to be faster for you to be on your way. Then the “first and second” window idea was introduced so that you could pay at one and get your food at the second so you could be on your way even faster. Now some places have two lanes with speakers so people do not have to wait as long to place the order.
In fact, just about everything has a “drive thru” these days because we are so busy we don’t want to have take the time to actually go in a business. When I lived in Georgia
I admit I like drive through for pick up. I use the drive thru bank, drive thru drug store, drive thru restaurants or those who will bring it to you car.
I have no idea what the inside of many of these places look like because I don’t ever go inside!
So what does that say about our ability to persevere? As for me I could say I do not like to have to “wait” very long.
This brings me back to the statement of my dad, “all good things come to those who wait”. My dad was a great encourager and always made you feel like you could accomplish anything if you tried long enough or in other words you need to persevere. One of my memories as a child is a piano recital in which I had practiced many hours to be ready to perform. As I was playing at the recital I forgot part of the piece. I stopped and began at the beginning and when I got to that same place I could not remember. I did this two times and then finally just got up and walked away. I was embarrassed and wanted to run out of the building.
After the recital my dad said, “I think you played the part you remembered the best I’ve ever heard you play”. He told me to always remember that to try and fail is better than to not ever try at all. An important lesson I learned from him is that perseverance is an important quality to develop in life.
Oliver Goldsmith said, “Success consists of getting up just one more time than you fail.” It seems “faster” or “now” is not a quality of life that always brings success.
There have been times in the “waiting” period that I have not practiced perseverance. I have allowed my journey to be clouded with doubt, resentment, feeling of being the “victim” and felt miss-treated.
So as I ponder the word perseverance it makes me realize that I have to learn that never quitting, never giving up and just putting one foot in front of the other leads to many successful roads.
I invite you to join me in pondering this quote: “Don’t be discouraged. It’s often the last key in the bunch that opens the lock”.
I offer this as an encouragement to all of us to keep working on developing perseverance so our lives will be successful, Remember the next time you eat KFC chicken: Colonel Sanders was 65, broke and had 300 rejections before someone believed in him and his idea.
