PERSISTENCE: THE FUEL OF VISIONS
Image : Release, Fay Ray, 2014
Over the course of the next few weeks, we will explore Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich, under a modern Benshen-esque lens. Though one might believe that wealth only equals money, “rich” expands beyond that: it means being able to create prosperity in your life, which can take shape in many different forms. Money is just one medium. Prosperity goes so far beyond financial gains and Hill, with his 13 Principles of Success and teachings on the Laws of the Universe, pioneered a unique roadmap to excellence and how to unlock prosperity—one that focuses on how to program our mental faculties rather than lean on external circumstances.
LAW No.8 | PERSISTENCE
- KEEP THE FIRE BURNING -
“Persistence is the silent but irresistible power which comes to the rescue of those who fight on in the face of discouragement.”
—Napoleon Hill, Think and Grow Rich, 1937
This next Principle of Success is fundamental to turning thoughts into things. It’s the secret sauce and a tough pill to swallow all in one: it’s the concept of persistence. On this path of co-creating our dream reality, we have the opportunity to reframe defeat and failure. The majority of the world sees setbacks as the end. But according to Napoleon Hill, the ones who snap out of this “mental inertia” are the ones “who never accept life’s reverse gear”—nothing is a failure, but rather a lesson or blessing. The magic happens when we fall down nine times, and get up ten.
It’s this sustained effort that builds faith—in ourselves and in the desire coming to fruition—but it requires thoughtful training. Because the beginning of identifying our desires is a sparkly time. Most of us have no trouble lighting up in the early stages, talking about our ideas and grand schemes, feeling invincible since nothing has happened yet. But when roadblocks arise, or the shiny-ness of what we want wanes, it’s easy to lose the mojo to keep going. It can be simpler to de-prioritize the desire or get discouraged when things aren’t aligning as quickly or as simply as we want. This is a test. For Hill, “the hidden Guide lets no one enjoy great achievement without passing the persistence test.” If we can continue on, that’s when we reach the other side of where our blessings reside.
In this newsletter, we will discuss how to climb over our failures and cultivate the habit of persistence. And in true Benshen fashion, we don’t want to have to drag our feet to the finish line; we want to be dancing all along the journey, soaking up unexpected moments of pleasure and ecstasy.
Image: Gemma Ward W Magazine (November 2005) by Nick Knight
FOUR STEPS FOR CONVERTING
DREAMS INTO PHYSICAL REALITIES
as told by Napoleon Hill
Persistence is one of those traits that we often think of as saved for a very small group of people who live on the planet, those who obtain magical superpowers and are completely separate from the rest of us. Despite how it looks, persistence is a trait that is learned and one that we can also develop at any stage of our lives, with a little practice and patience. Why is it such an important characteristic to develop? Because as we move towards our dreams, challenges and obstacles may come along the way to test our resilience and desire to achieve them. Without persistence and the ability to keep going when the going gets tough, we will lose our balance the moment even a small gust of wind comes our way. When we understand what gives us the strength to persist, no matter what, then we can call upon Victory whenever we need to. In his book, Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill emphasizes the power of persistence and clearly states four steps to build it within…
1. HAVE A DEFINITE PURPOSE, BACKED BY BURNING DESIRE, FOR ITS FULFILLMENT.
2. CREATE A DEFINITE PLAN, EXPRESSED WITH CONTINUOUS ACTION, MOVING ON STEP CLOSER TOWARDS YOUR GOALS EVERY SINGLE DAY.
3. CULTIVATE A MIND CLOSED TIGHTLY AGAINST ALL NEGATIVE AND DISCOURAGING INFLUENCES, INCLUDING NEGATIVE SUGGESTIONS OF RELATIVES, FRIENDS, AND ACQUAINTANCES.
4. FORM A FRIENDLY ALLIANCE WITH ONE OR MORE PERSONS WHO WILL ENCOURAGE ONE TO FOLLOW THROUGH WITH BOTH PLAN AND PURPOSE.
“Riches do not respond to wishes.
They respond only to definite plans,
backed by definite desires,
through constant persistence.”
— Napoleon Hill, Think and Grow Rich, 1937
Image: ANGELO MANGIAROTTI LESBO TABLE LAMP for ARTEMIDE, 1967
Next time you feel like you’ve fallen off of the wagon or feel discouraged to keep going—pause. In this moment, our minds have two options; to toil around in a comfortable space of guilt, shame, and anxiety OR channel something completely different and practice bouncing back. One of our favorite tricks to avoid the resistance that comes with feeling like we have to start ALL over is to pretend we are at DAY 100, as if we never fell off in the first place. Channel how it would feel to be there. You might be thinking, “well, isn’t that lying to ourselves?” Technically, yes. But in reality, it’s better to put our energy and attention towards THAT feeling rather than guilt and shame for falling off. Guilt and shame get us nowhere except engaging in behaviors and choices that fuel those feelings.
What if, instead, we imagined we never stopped— because in reality we are always on our way even with bumps in the road. If we train our mind to think this way, we can get back up quicker, catching a spark of excitement and momentum to start again without the heaviness of feeling like we “failed." Our goals require stamina and there is no greater energy leak than beating ourselves up. If we can create an illusion for our subconscious where we’re on the other side of accomplishing our dream, we can spiral UP instead of spiraling down.
You know how much we love this duo. Eric Thomas and Lewis Howes deliver a short yet powerful conversation on how to pick yourself back up when you're at the bottom…
Q: “My question is what would you say to someone who has lost their faith and trying to find their way back?”
ERIC THOMAS: “We'll I would say the same thing I would say to anybody who loses anything…go look where you had it last! At where you left it! If lost my keys, I'm thinking to myself, where was the last place I saw them? Lets go back to that place, let's at least start there. So if you lost it, where did you lose it? Was it a relationship that got in the way? Was it business that got in the way? Are you not waking up in the morning like you used to wake up in the morning? Do you not put yourself in that environment that you used to go to when your faith was high?"
“Through some strange and powerful principle of “mental chemistry” which she has never divulged, Nature wraps up in the impulses of strong desire “that something” which recognizes no such word as impossible, and accepts no such reality as failure.”
- Napoleon Hill, Think and Grow Rich, 1937