“A river cuts through rock, not because of its power, but because of its persistence.”
- James N. Watkins
There I was on yet another pilgrimage cruising down a freeway that offered very little other than a hypnotic amount of yellow and white lines stampeding towards my mechanical chariot. I had decided to go on a road trip to visit some friends randomly. I had many intentions for doing this, but the main one was just to give myself some time to clear my mind and process what the hell had just happened to my life. Needless to say, I had recently gotten punched pretty hard by life, and I was trying to figure out how to press on and recuperate from this.
So there I was cruising solo with only my thoughts, sleep deprivation, and some good music. Then the epiphany struck like a lighting bug against my unforgiving windshield. I realized I had stopped being tenacious in life; I had started settling for "no" as an answer to the pursuit of my dreams. I couldn't believe that something so obvious had taken so much time to reveal itself to me. I no longer was being tenacious about my dreams. I had settled for that which I was not aiming for.
Well, fuck, realizing this was half the battle. Back when I was an electrician, it was always hard to fix a problem if I didn't know what was broke. So, even though this epiphany sucked it was good at the same time because now I knew what to focus on fixing and rejuvenating. It was time to be a tenacious man again.
The first step was taken, I had sobered up to my reality, and now it was time for action. I hope you find encouragement in this and ask yourself in what areas of life you could be more tenacious. Also, this is not me saying that you can never take no for an answer. It is rather me attempting to encourage men to fight for their dreams and when faced with opposition to not run away or give up. I hold to a personal belief that there is a creative solution to most problems. So here are the following things I did once I realized I was no longer tenacious to the extent that I wanted.
- Step one is to observe.
Write down or think about the dreams in life that you are shooting for. Then ask yourself have you given up quickly when faced with opposition. What areas in your life have you just given up trying in? You need to observe your life and find the areas you are struggling in. It is from that spot you can make changes or move forward.
- Step two is to make a plan.
For me, I set some personal goals and challenges for myself to keep moving forward with dreams I have for The Man Effect for example. Making and developing a plan empowers me to think through the process, break it down into simple steps, and gives me an action plan. When taking the time to focus and develop a plan, it makes taking action, persistence, and tenacity towards the desired product much easier.
- Step three take action.
After observing yourself and finding your weak areas, and making a plan the final step after this is to take action. Write that letter, ask for the promotion with all the data of what value you bring to the table, start taking those guitar lessons, or whatever it is you have set out for yourself. You no longer have an excuse and need to take action. You see the problem and have a plan to fix it. Now you just need to do that which you have set out for yourself. If you find yourself starting to make excuses that is a signal that you are headed in the right direction. Push through, be tenacious, and shoot for the moon!
I believe in you. Find the tenacity to fight for your dreams! I would love to hear from you and what areas in life you are going to be more tenacious pilgrimage!
Cheers,
Timothy
