26 December 2009
The Power of If (Part 7) – Perseverance

Filed under gaps + thoughts

Watty Piper’s The Little Engine That Could, left a permanent impression on me as a child with its simple depiction of the value and power of perseverance. Often during life’s many tests of endurance, my memory of this potent story acts as my own personal coxswain, chanting in my mind’s ear, “I think I can, I think I can.” Sticktoitiveness is the key ingredient in any worthwhile achievement and every truly successful life. “The characteristic of genuine heroism is its persistency. All men have wandering impulses, fits and starts of generosity. But when you have resolved to be great, abide by yourself, and do not weakly try to reconcile yourself with the world. The heroic cannot be the common, nor the common the heroic,” stated Ralph Waldo Emerson. Louis Pasteur recognized it as the key to his success, “Let me tell you the secret that has led me to my goal: my strength lies solely in my tenacity.” In her every-bit-as-eloquent yet more down-to-earth entreaty, Dolly Parton reminds us, “The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.”

Exemplars of the ‘moxie’ principle are found in all ways and walks of life, but I can’t think of a more complete embodiment than Abraham Lincoln. Honest Abe’s successes and ‘failures’ are legendary. Before he became the 16th President of the United States, he had been defeated over 7 times in his political aspirations, failed in business and suffered a nervous breakdown. As president he lead America through its most challenging chapter, the Civil War. The trials and tribulations President Lincoln endured gave him a unique perspective into the necessity of perseverance. Sharing that perspective, Mr. Lincoln taught, “The probability that we may fail in the struggle ought not to deter us from the support of a cause we believe to be just.” He further taught “You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today.”

Rudyard Kipling (RK), author of the poem ‘If’, was born 8 months after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Though they could never have met, I can’t help but wonder if Kipling was indirectly influenced by the life of Lincoln. It’s as almost as if the next 4 lines RK’s masterpiece, were written with Mr. Lincoln’s character in mind:

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’

Certainly Lincoln exemplified the will to ‘Hold On.’ His commitment to persevere through his personal trials, laid the foundation of strength needed for keeping an estranged nation together. Franklin D. Roosevelt, 32nd President of the United States describes such tenacity this way, “When you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on.”

Like Lincoln we can prepare for the challenge and reward of tomorrow by standing resolute today. Such constancy not only conditions, but as John Quincy Adams observed, clears our way, “Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish.” I take my closing admonition from the words of English poet and politician, Joseph Addison, “If you wish success in life, make perseverance your bosom friend, experience your wise counselor, caution your elder brother and hope your guardian genius.” ~Russ

Twenty-four lines down and eight to go.

2009-12-26  ::  Russ Leseberg