Reaching your potential requires persistence. Understand that you have the ability to ‘put a dent in the universe’. Most people fail because they lack confidence, give up too soon, or don't push hard enough.
Persistence is crucial for founders. Every startup will face repeated failures; this is inherent when solving large problems. Failure hurts, but bouncing back is harder. Failure is feedback for your next iteration. Resilience means staying positive when things go wrong. Setbacks can affect your plans, but not your morale. Your initial reaction to a setback shouldn’t be to quit or change direction. Persistent people know when it’s the right time to change their mind. Persistence requires good judgement.
Persistent people have a lot of energy. They push forward and keep trying things. Energy fuels the demand for new ideas, and imagination and creativity are essential to develop ideas that go beyond initial solutions.
Persistent people will focus on a goal, but remain open minded in how to achieve it. The initial approach to solving a problem is the least informed. You must learn and adapt your method. Obstinate people are determined in a different way to persistent people, they are stubborn. They attach themselves to an idea of how to reach that goal.
Successful people are optimistic. If you think you’re going to win, it doesn’t mean you're going to win. If you think you’re going to lose, you will lose. Luck plays a role in any success story, but you can create luck. If you are persistent long enough and create enough opportunities, you give yourself more chances for luck to go your way.