Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.– Calvin Coolidge
via swissmiss
{ 23 comments… read them below or add one }
Truer words probably have never been spoken!
That is a pathetic quote to post. Who was he again ?
No more true then than now. It’s up to the individual to decide what they wish to sacrifice in order to achieve their goal.
Determination is the key..
Very true. Painful in some ways. Still true.
Just what I needed to hear today… Thanks!
Great quote. However, I supose the case could be made that the only thing more common is succesful people without talent…
Fantastic quote, and 100% true.
Ben, you’re also correct. I think we’ve all learned that crappy fact at some point along the way.
“Calvin Coolidge didn’t say much, and when he did he didn’t say much.”
– Will Rogers
….You realize Coolidge was pretty much the George W. Bush of his day.
I try to work this one every day.
Motivation… this is what I feel when I read this.
Content without context is useless.
Did you bother to actually read the context that swissmiss found the quote?
@Pat, Totally agree.
I like the article better than the Quote.
“There’s an old saying that if you’re pointed in the right direction, all you have to do is keep walking.”
“There’s just one hitch, though… did you catch it?
Absolutely all of it – 100% of this approach – depends on having the right direction. Without that one little element, the entire effort is for naught.”
@Pat,
You follow links to find out more. Did you bother to read the internet instruction manual?
@A Photo Editor,
I thought it was evident I followed the links. I was asking if you did, since you failed to pass on the key – crucial – point.
@everyone
Don’t think that banging your head against a brick wall ultimately works – you must have a well thought out strategy, otherwise you’ll just end with bumps on your head!
As the link states (http://goodexperience.com/2009/09/a-lesson-in-strategy.php) :-
“So be forewarned – it’s hard to be a strategist. People prefer action. “Ready-fire-aim” sounds so much more exciting and appealing. “Do something!” they say – and it can be hard to sit down and say hey, let’s take at least a couple of days to think about who our customers are and talk to them about what they need.”
@PAt,
The only failure is that people think they should be spoon fed.
thanks for posting that
Coolidge’s words are partialy correct. I will say this after having many thoughts about the subject there is one truth that I live by and would instruct others on early in their lives.
Follow the passion on your heart. We have gifts/talents and they differ from pereson to person. Pursue what ever “it” is with passion. Whether it is photography, law enforcement, do what ever it takes.
Your life should be about the passion,that internal drive, it isn’t work anymore, it is a joy to do what ever it takes to have a life in the passion, sharing it with others. Just MHO
As a person whom often referred by many as very talented and have ‘rare’ ability in music, I can’t agree more with this quote.
It’s soo true that sometimes, this world works in quite an illogical way,
in that the person who *should* be rewarded the most, is not rewarded,
while that person who doesn’t deserve such big rewards & praises, get all of it.
It’s all marketing & business, money.
And that is what makes me sick about society, and what makes all those “unsuccesful talented men, unrewarded genius, and education derelicts” quite common in our everyday’s lives.
If it were up to me, i’d like to change the whole system,
but….starting from where??
It depends how you define success, but I can speak from experience. Out of all my friends, it isn’t necessarily the most talented ones that go on to succeed. It is the ones that knew what they wanted to do early on, had a plan, and the discipline and determination to stick with it and achieve it that have done really well.
The world owes you nothing. Just because you have talent doesn’t mean that you will get rewarded for it, or even recognised for it. If you want it TAKE IT, IT’S YOURS!
The END.
There are only so many hours in a day and days in a year.
So the more time you spend developing your talent, the less time you have to spend on business and marketing.
And vice versa.
“Persistance” as used in this discussion implicitly applies to self-promotion and marketing and business. Persistance in developing your art/craft/expertise means devoting time that would otherwise be available to activities pursuing success in the marketplace.
I’ve always been an outstanding speller. Let’s all spell persistence correctly from now on, okay?