Success Principle #2 – Keep On In Spite of the Obstacles

Yesterday morning I decided that it was time to get started here in spite of the fact that everything is not completely set up and pretty yet. So I sat down and wrote what I thought became a good launch post explaining what I was up to.

I was in a bit of a hurry as I had to drive a couple hours away down to Jacksonville, FL for work (I live in Savannah, GA) and wouldn’t be home until later in the evening. Because I was in a hurry I decided not to take the time to set up my off line post writing software. I just went ahead and wrote what I had to say on line directly into the web site.

“Save early and save often” has been my mantra for years when doing anything with computers but apparently I’ve gotten a little spoiled by with the editing software I use. It automatically saves what I have done as I go along without having to manually do anything.

Of course it could have just been that I was in a hurry and forgot to save my work.

Regardless of the reason, I didn’t even try to save a draft of my work until I had it completely written. And then, at the moment I hit save, my server crashed. I lost the whole thing. No chance of recovery.

And I knew better.

There was no time to re-write it because I had to leave for work. The frustrating part was I knew my schedule for later. I knew that when I got home that night I had a commitment that would keep me from being able to focus on what I’d written and re-create it.

I could have rolled over, maybe seen it as a sign that I really shouldn’t get started yet. Maybe it was a message from on high that what I was supposed to do was get everything in order before I launched.

WRONG!

In every worthy endeavor we take on there will be obstacles. We should expect it as a natural part of the process. The key is having enough commitment to overcome the obstacles that do try to block your path.

I re-wrote the post when I got home in spite of the distractions. (That multi-task training I got back in the Navy came in handy!)

John Maxwell’s book Today Matters: 12 Daily Practices to Guarantee Tomorrows Success has this to say on the subject:

You’ve got problems, I’ve got problems, all God’s children have got problems. The question is, How are you going to deal with them? Clergyman and author Maltbie D. Babcock said,

One of the most common mistakes and one of the costliest, is thinking that success is due to some genius, some magic something or other which we do not posses. Success is generally due to holding on and failure to let go. You decide to learn a language, study music, take a course in reading, train yourself physically. Will it be a success or failure? It depends upon how much pluck and perseverance that word “decide” contains. The decision that nothing will overrule, the grip that nothing can detatch will bring success.

“Success is generally due to holding on and failure to let go.”

That’s a good take-away for today, don’t you think?

Keep on in spite of your obstacles.

Enjoy!