Success Through Perseverance

by: Dr. Laurence Mascay

“Perseverance, patience, and determination will help us move forward even in the most difficult of times.”
- Pres. Rodrigo R. Duterte (SONA July 2020)

On July 27, 2020, President Rodrigo Roa Duterte delivered his 5th State of the Nation Address (SONA). In his statement on the infrastructure projects under the “Build, Build, Build” program, he said, “perseverance, patience, and determination will help us move forward even in the most difficult of times.” Such a remark does apply not only in the building of infrastructure projects but also in our day-to-day lives - that we succeed and not merely survive amid challenges we are facing.  

"Continue in a course of action even in the face of difficulty or with little or no prospect of success." This quote from Michael Williams signifies an action of experiencing victory in the continuance of one’s unceasing efforts no matter the odds. Such is the case of Jack Ma, a person with a net worth of about $39 billion and runs Alibaba, one of the world's largest companies. He had experienced rejection countless times in pursuit of his dreams. For instance, Ma applied for different jobs and was rejected, and he got denied ten different times from Harvard. Despite this, he ended having several successful companies. Indeed, it is just a matter of perseverance.    

“Let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season, we will reap if we do not give up.” Saint Paul of Tarsus, in this passage, is urging us to do good in our respective areas - family, workplace, school, church, and government. We ought to take care to do good and make it a business of our lives, especially when given the opportunity and in the reach of our power to do so. Furthermore, doing good involves yielding to the Spirit of God and exhibiting the fruit He produces such as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Accordingly, as we exercise these virtues in our lives, doing good will become inevitable, and success and lasting reward will become our portions.
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Battles are fought in our minds everyday. Joyce Meyer said, on what to do if we are tired of toughing it out or persevering in life’s various challenges, “...when we begin to feel the battle is just too difficult and want to give up, we must choose to resist negative thoughts and be determined to rise above our problems. We must decide that we're not going to quit.” In application, if you are writing a report, do it one page at a time; If you are working on a project, do it one phase or stage at a time; When you work, do it gladly one day at a time; When you study, one subject or class at a time. Eventually, you’ll find that perseverance is in effect in your life for success in your endeavors.  

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