The Positive Power of Practicing Persistence

By Hariharan Dharmarajan and Jerry Twentier

Have you ever started a project and never finished? Have you ever tackled a challenge only to give up halfway through? Have you ever lost your enthusiasm or confidence midstream? Of course that happens to everyone. The Positive Power of Practicing Persistence provides a powerful jump-start to get us moving again when we get stalled. Readers will walk away with a potent vaccination of never-give-up kind of persistence to employ in every facet of their personal and professional lives.

The book opens with an inspiring account of the authors true life experience of leaving his homeland in India to migrate to a new country and culture. It is an inspiring diary of perseverance and determination to overcome all obstacles and barriers to achieve success in a challenging environment.

In The Positive Power of Practicing Persistence, the author has selected fifteen inspiring stories of remarkable individuals who refused to concede their dreams. While some are well-known, others are relatively unknown. Inventors and entertainers, presidents and prisoners, saints and prophetsall are showcased in the book to illustrate that persistence can be applied by any person, anywhere and in any set of circumstances. Personal stories of Thomas Edison, Mother Theresa, Walt Disney, Nelson Mandela, Roger Barrister, J. K. Rowling, and Mahatma Gandhi are included. A couple of lighter stories featuring The Tortoise and the Hare and The Little Engine That Could add another layer of assurance that persistence wins on all levels.

The final third of the book deals with the practical how-to-do-it methods to cultivate a greater resolve in our lives. These valuable how-to chapters engage readers in immediate action steps in how to persist in winning that dream job, getting the sale, achieving education goals, eliminating debt, and that all-elusive goal that plagues us allhow to persist in losing weight and getting fit!

Other how-to chapters feature the art of teaching persistence to your children. Sprinkled through each chapter are quotes to motivate and inspire readers in their struggle to persist. Each chapter concludes with a key summary statement.

The Positive Power of Practicing Persistence is a sure-fire way to reignite that fire within each of us to achieve everything we were designed to do.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trafford Publishing
• Release date: Jul 17, 2015
• ISBN: 9781490758343

Hariharan Dharmarajan

Hariharan Dharmarajan has almost twenty years’ experience in public, private and corporate training environments. Author, consultant, public speaker and senior lecturer, he holds multiple degrees including a Masters in Commerce and Masters in Education at the National Institute of Education in Singapore, with specialization in Psychological Measurement & Testing. Recipient of numerous prestigious awards, Hariharan was presented the PS21 Distinguished Star Service Award for achieving outstanding standards in service excellence by Deputy Prime Minister Mr. Teo Chee Hean and PS21 Star Service Award by Mr. Peter Ong, Head, Civil Service College. He was also recognized as recipient of the ITE Service Star Award, Excellent Service Award and Distinguished Service Star Award in 2011. Hariharan is a popular speaker as well as workshop and a conference moderator. Currently he is a resident instructor and senior lecturer – mentor at the Institute of Technical Education in Singapore.

Book preview

THE

POSITIVE

POWER OF

PRACTICING

PERSISTENCE

Hariharan Dharmarajan

with

JERRY D. TWENTIER

©

Copyright 2015 Hariharan Dharmarajan and Jerry D. Twentier.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written prior permission of the author.

ISBN: 978-1-4907-5833-6 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4907-5835-0 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4907-5834-3 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015909370

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Trafford rev. 07/11/2015

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Contents

-Foreword-

-Preface-

SECTION ONE: MY STORY

ACHIEVEMENT THROUGH PERSISTENCE

The author’s personal story of overcoming obstacles

How Far to Istana?

SECTION II: THEIR STORY

WINNING THROUGH PERSISTENCE

A collection of inspiring champions who won through perseverance

He Lit the World with Persistence

Little Engine, BIG Ambition

The Prisoner Who Became President

Fast and Furious Meets Slow and Steady

Queen of the Streets of Calcutta (Kolkata)

Failed, Failed, Failed … and Then!

Harry Potter and the Gift of No

Two Frogs in a Bucket of Trouble

It All Started with a Mouse

The Mother Who Touched the Heart of a King

I Will Fear No Evil

What Can We Achieve in Three Minutes and Fifty-Nine Seconds?

Nana-Korobi, Ya-Oki

Sales Queen of the Floating Market

SECTION THREE: PERSISTENCE: HERE’S HOW

A practical how-to-guide for employing persistence to achieve your goals

How to Be Persistent Without Being Annoying

What to Do When You Hit the Wall

Speaking the Language of Determination

How to Teach Persistence to Your Children

How to Persist in Making the Sale

How to Persist in Landing the Job

How to Persist in Getting Your Education

How to Persist in Achieving Financial Stability

How to Persist in Getting Fit

Eyes on the Prize: Designing a Life of Purpose On Purpose

How to Say No Once You Find Your Yes

And the Next Chapter Is …Yours!

An inspiring story of remarkable determination and achievement!—Shiv Khera, author, educator, business consultant, public speaker, founder of Qualified Learning Systems, New Delhi, India

"Challenge is inevitable. Defeat is optional. Beat the odds by applying the principles in this book. The Bible admonishes, ‘Go to the ant, consider her ways and be wise’ (Proverbs 6:6). Persistence in everything, especially prayer, is the essential path to success!" —Pat Boone, singer, actor, Christian activist, Los Angeles, CA USA

It is important to start well in order to end well. But it is even more important to end well despite an uncertain start. This book will inspire those who need a compelling reason to reach the right destination! —Delane Lim, CEO of Agape Group Holdings, executive director of Character and Leadership Academy, Singapore

Congratulations to one of India’s own sons for this golden guide to personal achievement!—Vijay Michihito Batra, motivational speaker, author and columnist, New Delhi, India

"Anyone can start strong but it takes someone who has been refined by fire to finish well. This book will help you break through all barriers to success so you can finish strong and finish well!" —Bibi Apampa, business coach, author, motivational speaker, Watford, UK

This book will definitely inspire those who want to be triumphant in their lives! The book reveals the secret ingredient to combat life’s challenges and ushers you onto the right path for success. I have a personal connection to the emotions shared by the author, as the book reminds me of my parents and grandparents, who faced numerous challenges in their lives. However, with sheer perseverance they were able to conquer all challenges and find success in a foreign land. The Positive Power of Practicing Persistence captures what is possible when you set your heart toward success.

Giving up is easy; following through is where winners are born. Reading this book may just give you that oomph you are missing to get you across your finish line!"

— Kalpesh Patel, professional inspirational speaker and successful entrepreneur, London, UK

This book is a powerful reminder to make fewer excuses and more commitments to never give up…something I can relate to, since I have no arms! —Alvin Law, motivational speaker and author of Alvin’s Laws of Life, Calgary Alberta, Canada

"I would like to extol the authors for their incredible work. All the sections of The Positive Power of Practicing Persistence are awe-inspiring. I believe the readers of this book will gain a broader perspective on perseverance to achieve the success they seek!" — Sajeev Nair, entrepreneur, author, motivational trainer, and life coach, Kerala, India

If you combine motivation with perseverance, this book will help you finish strong! — Jeff Yalden, motivational speaker, teen and family life coach, Sagamora Beach, MA, USA

"This book will help you perceive things differently. Like a rushing stream passing swiftly by, seize this fleeting moment to benefit from a wonderful book!" —Professor Dr. B. Latha Lavanya, Measi Institute of Management, Royapettah, Chennai, India.

44410.png

To Dad,

The wisest man I know

and

to the memory of my beloved mother,

Saroja Dharmarajan,

who joined the angels in Paradise

15 August 2002

44418.png

"Tis A Lesson You Should Heed:

Try, Try, Try Again.

If At First You Don’t Succeed,

Try, Try, Try Again."

William Edward Hickson

-FOREWORD-

I am grateful to the Almighty for granting me an opportunity to offer this foreword. I am convinced that this book addresses the most important yet challenging ingredient in life’s success formula. Recounting my own experience, I am certain that no single factor holds greater value than perseverance in the success of my life!

From Hindu scripture, the Bhagavat Gita offers a profound principle for life achievement: Powerful intention, undivided attention, and a detachment from results. By enacting all three, the Universe will unfold before you all that you intended in many folds.

What a marvelous principle that should guarantee all of us the success we seek! Yes, most of us have noble intentions. And we manage to practice focused attention. Then we grow impatient to reap immediate results—forgetting the third factor—detachment from results. We plant the sapling and fertilize and water it daily. Our intentions and attention are spot-on. Then we spoil the process by pulling up the sapling to check whether new roots have sprouted.

Persistence is much like breaking a rock with repeated strikes. Again and again, we strike. But rocks don’t shatter easily. We likely hammer for a bit and then move on, seeing no evidence of fissures in the rock. We forget that only persistent, repeated strikes will achieve our desired result in the long term.

I have encountered numerous well-intentioned, hardworking people who prematurely moved on, robbing themselves of achieving their breakthrough. They become disenchanted, accepting the lot of a loser or claiming to be born unlucky. They blame the rock, the hammer, and other circumstances that deprived them from goal achievement.

The one quality we must employ to gain cooperation of universal forces is persistence. Why? Because the universe operates according to the law of cause and effect. For every outcome, there is a specific cause: When you plant a seed, water it, and fertilize it, the universe will reward you with a tree. Likewise, if you continually hammer the rock, it will break.

Currently, it is popular to preach and practice the law of attraction, implying that intention leads to attraction. Life experience, however, proves otherwise: Intention + action + persistence = attraction. You may not achieve what you want at first attempt, but when you insert persistence into the equation, it ignites your actions to attain more than you can imagine!

I would like to extol the authors for their incredible work. All the sections of The Positive Power of Practicing Persistence are awe-inspiring. I believe the readers of this book will gain a broader perspective on perseverance to achieve the success they seek!

Sajeev Nair

Entrepreneur, Author, Movtivational Trainer, and

Life Coach

Founder and Chairman of Bramma Learning Solutions

Kerala, India

-PREFACE-

How you ever started a project—and never quite finished? Are you one of those well-intentioned souls who joined a gym in January and abandoned your plan in February? Could it be you’ve lost your mojo, your enthusiasm, your confidence?

Certainly, you’ve got plenty of company! According to research conducted at the University of Scranton, only 44 percent of those who make New Year’s resolutions are still hanging tough six months later.

How can it be that less than half of us manage to get where we most want to be in life? Whenever the P word is mentioned, we likely visualize persistence as drudgery—a sort of personal crusade of endurance and extreme adversity. For sure, persistence requires more than a wish and a prayer.

Let’s face it. Statistics suggest we are surrounded by a majority of under-achievers, who fall short of their intended reach. And we are sure to be influenced by them. Remember that birds of a feather line? Well, perhaps it’s time to acquire some new-feathered friends—over-achievers, persistent, determined, tenacious go-getters who make things happen out of pure grit.

This book will offer you a whole new team of associates to inspire and arouse you to action. They all fought and failed, struggled and suffered, yet ultimately won through sheer persistence! And at some magical point, inspiration will turn to perspiration and you’ll be off and climbing!

The ultimate prize of any worthwhile mission demands that we willingly swim upstream against the currents. We press onward to conquer that no-man’s land where most dare never venture. We scratch and claw our way up the perilous peak wherein our dream lies.

What drove Sir Edmund Hillary to scale Mount Everest? What motivated Neil Armstrong to plant a flag on the moon? What inspired Roger Bannister to run faster than any human had ever run before? Blind to impossibilities, our God-given determination breeds a power-infused energy that is not of human origin. We call it persistence.

Somewhere along the way, you’ll reach that impasse when you require a fresh jolt of something to jumpstart your efforts. You’re humming along—striving, achieving, climbing and reaching. And then all of a sudden—you hit the wall. You’ve got nothing.

Good news! Now, you’ve got something!

If at first you don’t succeed, you now hold the book you’ve got to read!

SECTION ONE: MY STORY

ACHIEVEMENT THROUGH PERSISTENCE

The author’s personal story of overcoming obstacles

How Far to Istana?

"The obstacles of your past become the gateways that

lead to new beginnings."

— Ralph Blum

North of the Singapore River runs the city’s most famous boulevard—Orchard Road, the lifeblood and center of commerce for Singapore. Lined with shade