Persistence Finally Has Its Rewards

Persistence is key to being successful in reaching one’s goals. In life, however, not everything happens in a straight line.  Even the smallest goals have a winding process involved in order to reach them.

On my walk today I went by Pascual’s large beach restaurant and thought back to the time many years ago when I first met him and ate one of his wonderful hot dogs which he cooked on a small cart which he parked on a lot kitty-cornered to the beach.

Over the years I have witnessed his journey as an entrepreneur in this beach community. Today his restaurant is a successful party place and with its outside area, can seat up to perhaps 150 people.

In the beginning, Pascual cooked and sold very good hot dogs to a faithful neighbourhood clientele who made their way to his cart on the corner, many leaving their beach lounge chairs to buy from him. From time to time, he would move his cart across the road and set up on the beach side, increasing his access to beach customers. Inevitably, the authorities would come and order him back to the other side of the road on the corner. He did not have a permit to do business on the beach side but he kept trying until one day, mysteriously, the authorities stopped making him move. And he happily had a constant spot for his cart on the beach side.

Then he began to add things, like a stable floor of concrete, a freezer to hold a bigger variety of cold drinks, and storage cabinets.  Slowly he began building a small restaurant. He added menu items that used his skill as a trained cook to offer Dominican dishes, and grilled fresh fish, which is very popular with his customers to this day. His customers now come from the city, as well as the local area, and the many out of town beach visitors are regular clients on weekends. It is no surprise that his site is chosen for special events. As a good community member he gives a special Christmas party for children.

His story has not always been easy with many personal challenges on the way. But he has persisted in spite of those, finally achieving his goals. 

Researcher Angela Lee Duckworth reported that, in her studies, one characteristic emerged as a significant predictor of success “It was grit”, another word for persistence.

Sometimes even a buried dream can be dug up, reassessed, and then prod us to move forward again to its attainment. My blogs, and my book, focus on the process of finding  and following a path to a life true to one’s self.

Do you have a story of persistence leading to success? What can you share that would help others learn this skill?

Want to have a private conversation? Please click on the Talk To Me button below.