We've all got issues and problems to deal with in our time on this earth. Whether you face struggles in your business or personal life, some days things seem too much to bear. And in these "economic times" we've all been reminded about how much of a challenge life can be.

Probably the lesson I remember most from my childhood and that has been the most valuable to me in terms of getting through the ups and downs of business (and being) has been the lesson of perseverance. From the time I was really young, my grandparents (who raised me) told me story after story about not giving up. Both had lived through the depression as well as many of their own health problems and were still around to tell me about it well into in their eighties and nineties.

Some examples that come to mind about their “stick-to-it-ive-ness” – a term I heard a lot:

·         My grandfather worked for seven years to be able to save the money up for one semester of college. He obviously proved himself as he earned a full academic scholarship and ended up earning his PhD in education. He later became a college professor and dean of numerous colleges, including NYU.

·         He also survived a number of near death illnesses including a ruptured appendix and heart attack. He also survived a diagnosis of terminal prostate cancer by more than ten years past the original (and thankfully inaccurate) prognosis… and the doctor who gave it to him.

·         My grandmother also told many tales about her many travel adventures through Alabama and the Midwest which often involved just missing natural disasters like tornadoes and somehow still making it to her destination...eventually.

·         My grandmother was also an ordained Methodist minister – something that was practically unheard of back in the early 1900’s. No doubt her dedicated pursuit to her education and achievement of what she wanted required a lot of perseverance.

When I was about seven or eight, my grandparents gave me a copy of a book I will never forget called “Never Quit.” It was written by a man named Glenn Cunningham who had been one of my grandfather’s student’s at NYU. As a child, Glenn had been burned severely and had been told he would never walk again. But as he struggled to recover through unimaginable pain, he heard over and over in his mind his own father’s words, “A Cunningham never quits.”

Somehow through all his struggles, Glenn was not only able to defy the odds and diagnosis and walk again, but he also became one of the most well-known track runners of the 1930’s, and was on the 1932 & 1936 US Olympic Teams.

That book still sits on my book shelf along with many others that inspire me to keep going when times are tough, to keep working toward the things that I really want in life. I am forever grateful for the many stories and examples that my loving grandparents shared with me. I  try to continue to share their wisdom with my students, clients and colleagues by passing on my own stories and examples of perseverance and persistence whenever possible.

No matter what is going on in your life, whether your business is struggling, you've been laid off or your fighting to overcome personal or health challenges, know that you can make it through. You have what it takes inside yourself to keep going, to find a better way or to accept the hand that has been dealt you and make the best of it.

I say all this because I know it's true. The last 6 months have been the toughest in my career in some ways. BUT...the difficulties I've encountered have been great teachers AND have also reminded me of what really matters in life. They've also reawakened my passion and talent for perseverance. I know I can do what it takes to get where I want to be - and so can you.

Namaste