The other day I was driving on a road I had never traveled before.  I had decided to get lost on purpose and guess what, after only a few turns and about 20 miles I had succeeded.  Not long after I had made the determination that I was truly lost, I came to a sign pointing down an old dirt road that read cemetery.  Naturally I could not resist taking one more turn to see where it might lead.  After about a mile I could no longer drive on this road because it was rough and muddy.  So I got out and walked.  The promised cemetery was not much to look at, but I did find this leaf.

          The thing that attracted me to this leaf was the fact that it was one of the last to still be attached to this huge tree.  All the others had let go and fallen to the ground.  As I looked at all the leaves that were scattered upon the ground, I noticed that many were prettier than my new friend.  A lot of them were more colorful, several were larger in size and most would have beaten mine in the leaf beauty contest.  Yet for all the advantages the other leaves had over this one, still I chose to photograph this solitary leaf.

          I would never have noticed this leaf had the others remained attached to the tree.  Although my leaf would have lost the beauty portion of the competition, she unquestionably won the Miss Tenacity award.  Her ability to hang on long after the others had let go, her perseverance, persistence and determination today was rewarded.  Perseverance can do anything which genius can do, which beauty can do, which talent can do and very many things which they cannot.  Because, often it is not the fastest who wins the race, or the strongest, or the most naturally gifted, but they who refuse to give up, stop or quit.

          Success seems to be largely a matter of hanging on after others have let go.  When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you ’til it seems as though you could not hold on a minute longer, never give up then, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn.  Few things are impossible to diligence and skill …. Great works are performed, not by strength, but perseverance.  Do you want to succeed?  Then when you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on.  Don’t quit; do not let go; keep hanging on and remember, all excellence involves discipline and tenacity of purpose.  You can overcome, you can win, you can excel if you never quit.  Persistence will give you power to prevail over all problems.  Men fail much more often from lack of perseverance than from want of talent.

Something to think about:

• Failure is the path of least persistence.

• Genius, that power that dazzles mortal eyes, Is oft but perseverance in disguise.

• Bear in mind, if you are going to amount to anything, that your success does not depend upon the brilliancy and the hastiness with which you take hold, but upon the everlasting and sanctified bull-doggedness with which you hang on after you have taken hold.

• Press on! Nothing in the world can take the place of perseverance. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts.

• The most rewarding things you do in life are often the ones that look like they cannot be done.

• The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a man’s determination.

• We can do anything we want to do if we stick to it long enough.

The guy encouraging you to hang on one more day
Rickey Moore