One of the most recognized fables, has as a teaching something that all entrepreneurs must have: Perseverance.
The Tortoise and the Hare relates in a simple way how those who persevere are able to achieve their objectives; regardless of his abilities.
But hey, let’s see first what is perseverance.
What is perseverance
According to the RAE, to persevere is to remain constant in the pursuit of what has been started, in an attitude or in an opinion.
Usually when we try to do something for the first time and we are not very good at it, we start making excuses and complaining:
- Why the others if they can?
- If I had practiced I would beat them.
- I’ve never been good at this.
- etc.
Before trying more times and improving, our first impulse is to give up. Why?
Also read: How to learn faster by practicing smart.
Why do we give up?
For psychologist Farouk Radwan, this is simply because we don’t have the necessary information and limit our capabilities.
Radwan gives an example with the skateboard.
If we were certain that after the 150th fall we would learn to ride a skateboard, it doesn’t matter that we have fallen 110 times. We would try again because we would be only 40 falls away from making it.
We also give up and don’t persevere because we let ourselves be fooled by expectations.
Examples of overcoming.
-Breaking records.
In the book think like a freak the authors tell the story of Takeru Kobayashi, who is known worldwide as Kobi.
He was an ordinary guy, with a stable job but with some financial problems.
His girlfriend, Kumi, entered him in an eating contest where the winner received $5,000. Kobi accepted without much pleasure but he set about the task of analyzing what those contests were like and he planned his strategy.
Without much difficulty he was the winner and as a result he decided to compete at a professional level.
The most important competition is the Nathan Famous, which is held in New York.
In 2001, when Kobi decided to participate, the record was 25 1/8 hot dogs in 12 minutes. Kobi prepared for months to win.
By the end of the contest, he had beaten the world record by almost double; with a mark of 50 hot dogs in 12 minutes. How did he do it?… He did not impose mental barriers and tested his abilities regardless of the previous record.
-Breaking mental barriers.
Another example of how expectations limit our abilities, and therefore our perseverance; It was an experiment in which they wanted to see how much an athlete could improve.
The test subjects were cyclists, who had to pedal on a stationary bike at their maximum speed for 4 km.
A video of the test was recorded and later the cyclists pedaled again for 4 km. But this time, watching the video of the previous test.
As expected, in the second test they managed to go at the same speed as in the video, what they did not know is that the video had been accelerated. So their “top speed” was limited by what they thought they could do!
When babies are in the process of learning to walk, no one gives up, nor does they think that walking is only for the best and they stay crawling for life. Why? Because they have not learned to surrender!
Thomas Alba Edison made 1,000 failed prototypes before creating the light bulb. Henry Ford went bankrupt 5 times before creating Ford. Colonel Sanders’ (KFC) chicken recipe was rejected more than 1000 times. However, all of them knew very well what perseverance is.
What is the secret to achieving perseverance.
We must be aware of some aspects:
- What is the challenge we are going to face?
- What are our capabilities.
- Do not put up mental barriers.
- Remember that we can always be one step away from achieving the goal.
Conclusion.
Once you understand what perseverance is and why we give up, you know that persisting does not depend on external factors. So if you set your mind to it, you can achieve everything you set your mind to.
Do not put limits on your perseverance!
And remember, if you are really interested in creating your own business, you can read our book “How to create a company while working: Discover how to manage your time, manage your money and motivate yourself while creating a company and working for another” , where you will find all the information you need to found your own company, without having to leave your job.
