Not Necessarily in that Order
By: Craig Wilson
I believe that competence, courage, passion and perseverance are the attributes that allow us to succeed and reach our goals. This quarter I am going to writing weekly blogs that address various aspects to each of these. Last week I posted about the struggles of Research In Motion, the maker of BlackBerry smart phones. Somewhere along the way they lost passion for continually striving to be innovative and the courage to try new advances in smart phone technology. This has led them to becoming a non-factor in the current marketplace. I believe success starts with passion that leads to the courage it takes to persevere. Perseverance will develop the competence we need to achieve our goals.
An incredible example of the embodiment of these principles is Jim Jackson, former wrestling coach at Apple Valley High School. Jim retired this Spring with a record of 619 wins – 26 losses and 3 ties in a coaching career that spanned 32 years. His teams won 12 of the past 13 state championships!
According to the Pioneer Press, “Former Apple Valley standout Destin McCauley, a five-time Minnesota high school champion currently training at the U.S. Olympic facility in Colorado Springs, Colo., said Jackson was strong in the face of adversity.” He persevered.
You see this pattern modeled over and over again in all walks of life from wrestlers to Steve Jobs to Mother Theresa. Passion fuels courage to go beyond our obstacles to really make a difference in this world.
I close this session with a bit about the late Jeff Healey. His was an incredible guitarist who lost both his eyes to cancer as an infant of eight months. He never saw how a guitar was supposed to be played, but that didn’t stop him from mastering the instrument in his own unique style.
Unfortunately Mr. Healey died from cancer in 2008 just before he turned 42. Below is his performance of “See the Light” from 1988 when he was 22.
It makes me realize that what I see as obstacles in my life are minor annoyances.
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This blog is spot on. Success stems from passion, that is not to say failure will be avoided but that it will be over come by the passion and perseverance. Everyone wants to succeed, but what seperates people from success and failure is tough skin, perseverance. At the same time I would also say alot of people set out in a direction with succeding not even on the radar, but let their passion move them in whatever form it takes. Jim Jackson was a great coach who has passion for a sport, people and competition. That passion lead him to persevere all obsticles and obtain what he has become, a role model not only for the players he coached, but to everyone who wants to succeed.
How have you developed a tough skin? What does it look like to you?
What a great reminder that we have a choice when faced with obstacles. We can let them hinder us or we can learn from them and know that we will be stronger and smarter in the end. And also to remember that what seems like a huge obstacle today, will one day be just a small part of our past.
Do you have an example of something you saw as a huge obstacle seeming to be a samll part of your past?
This blog really strikes a chord with me because not only “Perseverance will develop the competence we need to achieve our goals” – but perseverance is also one of the tenets of tae kwon do. Nine years before I earned my 1st Degree Black Belt, I was jumped in downtown Detroit, MI. Tae Kwon Do has helped me not only regain my confidence, but has also lit a fire in me to set AND accomplish my goals!! I could have easily hid behind my fear after getting hurt in Michigan but it is important to control our fear and not let it control us!! In the end, NOTHING that’s worth ANYTHING is ever ‘easy’!
You are persevering everyday. I’m proud of all you’ve accomplished!
What I really take away from this blog is that things aren’t always easy. In fact, things we really, really want rarely are handed to us. It takes hard work. We may fail once and while, but that’s no reason to give up. As I write this I think about how I will be using this thought in the near future. With graduation coming soon; the job hunt begins. I will bomb an interview, or two, my resume will be tossed into and endless pile to never be looked at again, I will be turned downed for jobs. That’s life but I can’t give up because with all the jobs I don’t get there will be the one I do and that’s going to be the one for me. Hey, if I’m lucky maybe I get to choose between couple!
Your absolutely right about the job search. Remember what you need is to get one job. Always remember you’re not alone in your search too. You can talk to me, Elaine and others teachers, like Judy.
I believe that all of these attributes play a important role in reaching our goals. In order to get past those obstacles we need a passion for what we are doing. This will give us the motivation, perseverance, courage, and determination to stick with it. The more you do something the better you get at it. You will continue to learn and become more competent. This movie clip of Jeff Healey is a great example that shows you can do anything you set your mind to as long as you have the passion, courage, perseverance, and competence to do it. You just have to face and conquer your obstacles.
What are your goals? What do you see as your biggest obstacle or greatest fear in acheiving it?
This article is very inspiring. There are many things that we face in life and we have to decide to run or stay and fight. Most peoples first reaction is to run, but it takes a unique individual that will put up the fight. We see it in cancer patients, athletes, musicians, military, police officers and firemen. These are people that perservere. We need more people like them in this world. I hope this article inspires more to be like them.
You know this better most. You’re an inspiration to me!!
I agree with you when you say that all of these factors play a key role in achieving our dreams and success we want. I tend to lack in some of these areas when it comes to pushing myself to get what I want. Mainly, I lack the courage part that this article speaks of. When I read this article I think of how much I have not had courage, and have not had that drive to really push myself to want I want. I’m too afraid of things going wrong, and don’t like the idea of being turned down. People are always telling me “what’s the worse that can happen besides them saying no, especially when that’s what you already think they will say.” It’s something I really hope to overcome in the near future because once I obtain my degree and begin my career, I don’t want to be that person who settled because I was too afraid to persevere.
What’s one step you can take to help gain that courage?
No one ever said that life was going to be easy. Everything worth achieving in this world is worth working for. It is much easier to stay focused when you have passion for what you are doing. When that passion is not there, then we need to use perseverence. When we just keep pushing ourselves to accomplish something, even though we may not want to, we usually end up surprising ourselves in the end. Sometimes we even find new passions through this process.
I really love the your last line – Sometimes we even find new passions through this process. That is so true! When I decided to major in Accounting it was a pragmatic decision, I was told there were lots of jobs in accounting, which is true. I certainly wasn’t passionate about it. Through my career though what I do now is so different than what I thought Accounting would be like, and I LOVE IT! Basically I help people by solving problems, analyzing opportunities, being a financial interpreter, or an advocate. We now have the MSB-LILAC (Minnesota School of Business – Lakeville I Love Accounting Club). While the name is meant to be funny, it also is true.
Thanks for sharing Shannon!
I think in order to achieve anything in life you at least need to want to do it and you need to work hard in order to get it. If everything was handed to you, I don’t think it would ever be very interesting and I certainly wouldn’t enjoy it as much. If you work hard to achieve something you tend to enjoy it that much more because you actually put the effort in to getting it. The article is very inspiring because you talk about all of these wonderful people who did excellent things in their lifetime and basically gave everything they had to help other people or to overcome huge obstacles in their lives. Like I said before, things are much more enjoyable in the end if you work hard to get to that point.
I really enjoy reading this article because it gave me a big lesson. I always think that if someone doesnt educate, try their best, and look for something better they are going to live always the same way. I have an inspiration on my dad, to look forward and reach my goals, to persevere and be someone in life. Be succesful finishing the day with an smile knowing that you did the best is what I am looking for. I believe that passion to do something is the path we should follow to achieve are goals and be successful.