How to Maintain: Persistence

Persistence. When most people tend to abandon an activity, successful entrepreneurs stick with it. An entrepreneur is not discouraged by difficulties and problems that come up in the business or his/her personal life. Once she sets a goal she is committed to the goal and will become completely absorbed in it.

Entrepreneurship is not the glamorous career path it’s been made out to be. It’s not about big ideas and ideals. It’s not about hopes and dreams. It’s not about guts and glory. It’s not even about invention and innovation. And it’s certainly not about a search for fame and fortune.
More than anything, entrepreneurship is a game of attrition. It’s about having the determination, the discipline, and the cash to see it through. It’s about not giving up and being the last man or woman standing when everyone else has fallen by the wayside.

Having the vision to see what others don’t, the passion to motivate yourself and others, the savvy to build and grow a business, and the guts to make good decisions, are all part of the mix. But what binds those ingredients together is the tenacity to stick with it, day in, day out, year after year.

Make no mistake, successful companies have no endpoint. That’s right, they don’t. The goal is to keep overcoming obstacles, growing sales, and making money, ad infinitum. If reading that sends a cold chill down your spine, you’re not alone. The prospect of having to keep all those balls up in the air and grow a business indefinitely is daunting to most.