[Podcast] The Power of Perseverance

These are the notes from today’s podcast:

Perseverance Quiz – Who are these people based on the hints about them? Listen to the podcast to find out who they are.

1.
? Too short and clumsy to play basketball
? Cut from the varsity basketball team
? Missed more than 9,000 shots and lost almost 300 games
? Considered one of the greatest basketball players of all time

2.
? Was a shy, timid teenager
? His drawings were rejected by his high school yearbook
? Is now considered on of the most influential cartoonists of all time

3.
? Was a defeated boxer and retired
? Became a minister and needed to raise money for his youth center
? Got back in the ring 10 years after retiring
? Was laughed at and not taken seriously because he was 45 years old and 50 pounds overweight
? He regained the title and became the oldest heavyweight boxing champion in history

4.
? He grew up very poor and was a shy loner
? He was told he couldn’t sing and to keep his truck driving job
? His songs have sold over a billion albums world-wide and people still imitate him today

5.
? Accident at birth caused partial paralysis of his face
? Speech was also slightly slurred and he looked a bit scary
? Wrote and starred in three Oscar winning movies

6.
? Was dyslexic and did poorly at school
? Dropped out of high school
? Is now one of the richest men in the UK, owns many companies and has been knighted

7.
? Didn’t speak until he was four years old
? Was thought to be mentally slow and had trouble finding a job
? His name is now synonymous with genius

8.
? Fired from his newspaper job
? Told he lacked imagination and had no good ideas
? Started several businesses that went bankrupt
? The company he started is now a household name because of the movies and theme parks he helped create

9.
? Dropped out of school at 15 to help support the family
? His family were eventually homeless and lived in a van
? He has dealt with major depression and ADHD for much of his life
? He is one of our best-known comedy actors

10.
? Quit school early and couldn’t hold a job
? Wife and child left him
? Retired at 65 with very little money and was suicidal
? Went door to door selling his special chicken recipe and at the age of 88 his company was making millions and the restaurants he started are still popular

What do all of these people have in common? They didn’t allow their circumstances or other people’s negative opinions define who they were or what they could accomplish.

What if they had given up when people tried to discourage them? What if #4 had believed he couldn’t sing, or #10 had carried out his suicidal thoughts? How might the world have missed out if all of those people had quit? And how might the world miss out if we quit!

What has someone (and that someone could even be yourself) told you was impossible or a waste of your time to accomplish, but you want to prove them wrong and do it?

Or what have you already overcome in spite of thoughts that you couldn’t?

I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Carol