People who become leaders of their lives instead of going with the flow and accepting the scraps that life throws at them understand the power of persistence.

Earl Nightingale, American author and radio host says: “Sometimes it seems there is a hidden guide somewhere whose duty it is to test men and women through all sorts of daunting experiences. Those who get up and keep trying after of being knocked down they happen”. . It’s kind of weird, but it works. And this hidden guide seems that no one enjoys a great achievement without passing the test of persistence. (From Earl Nightingale’s book “Transformational Living”)

Nightingale continues: “And those who can take it are handsomely rewarded for their persistence. They receive as compensation whatever goal they are pursuing. And that’s not all, because they receive something infinitely more important than material compensation, although they do get it.” But they gain the knowledge that every failure brings with it the seed of an equivalent advantage. There are exceptions to this rule. Some people know from experience the strength of persistence. They are the ones who have not accepted defeat as something more. that temporary. They are those whose wishes are applied so persistently that defeat has finally turned into victory.”

W. Clement Stone tells the story of Tom, “who was born without half of a right foot and only a stump of his right arm. As a child, he wanted to participate in sports like other children. He had a burning desire to play football. Because of this desire, his parents had an artificial foot made for him. It was made of wood. The wooden foot was encased in a special stubby soccer shoe. Hour after hour, day after day, he practiced kicking the football with his foot of stick. He would try, and keep trying, to make field goals from great distances. He became so skilled that he was hired by the New Orleans Saints.”

Nightingale says, “What would you say are the chances of a person playing professional football if they were born without half a right foot and a withered arm?”

66,910 football fans could be heard screaming “when Tom Dempsey with his crippled leg kicked the longest field goal ever kicked in a professional football game, in the last two seconds of the game, to give the Saints a winning score of nineteen to seventeen over the Detroit Lions.

Detroit coach Joseph Schmidt said, “We were miraculously beaten.”

The truth of the matter was that “they were overcome by perseverance.”

Tom Dempsey was persistent and willing to put in the hard work to reach his goal. He fell in love with the process of being the best kicker he could be. Even though he had different abilities than his teammates; he was determined, with a positive attitude, always looking forward!

How strong is your burning desire to reach your goal? If you created a 3-step process, what would it look like? What is your first step?

Says Saints owner Gayle Benson, “Tom’s life spoke directly to the power of the human spirit and exemplified his single-minded determination not to let setbacks get in the way of following his dreams and aspirations. He exemplified that same struggle and strength over the years.” as he bravely battled illnesses, but never wavered and maintained his trademark sense of humor. He holds a special place in the hearts and minds of the Saints family.”

Tom Dempsey remained an inspiration to others until his death in 2020, and his legacy lives on.

We’ve all felt the pang of regret when we’ve given up on a difficult task, knowing that we’ve somehow cheated out of our true potential. On the contrary, most of us have felt the joy of a hard-won victory when the future seemed bleak.

Earl Nightingale, read “about the great Knute Rockne of Notre Dame who believed and applied the rewards of persistence”

“He had a blood clot in his leg, and his doctors told him that if that blood clot broke free, it could kill him if it landed in his heart, brain, or lungs. But the Notre Dame team was playing away from home that day.” and insisted that he be taken to the game on a stretcher. So, they took him to the place where the game was going to be played. And they took him down to the locker room where their soccer players were getting ready for the game. And the sweat was running down his face. face and was in terrible pain and propped himself up on his elbows with tremendous effort and said, “This team you’re playing with today beat us last year.”

“I want you to go out there and win.” Then he said, “The team that can’t be beaten, can’t be beaten.”

Rockne “then fell backwards on his gurney, out of breath and in terrifying pain, and the team went out and won the game, and they never lost another game while Knute Rockne was alive, because when they saw the kind of courage he could develop, how persistently he fought to win even though he was on his back, he made giants out of men.”

Nightingale: “And the people who stand on the sidelines of life see the overwhelmingly large number who fall in defeat, never to get up again. They see the few who take the punishment of defeat as an impetus for greater effort. And these, fortunately, never learn to accept the reversal of life, but what we do not see, what most of us never suspected existed, is the silent but irresistible power that comes to the rescue of those who struggle in the face of discouragement. “.

“Now, if we talk about this power at all, we call it persistence and leave it at that. One thing we all know, if one doesn’t possess persistence, they can’t achieve any remarkable success in any profession.”

To achieve your goal or dream ask yourself these three questions:

1) Do you have a burning desire to achieve your goal or dream?

2) What is your step-by-step process to reach your goal or dream?

3) Are you willing to be persistent and get the job done like Tom Dempsey?