One of the reasons perseverance is seen as such an important tool is that it indicates a long-range vision.  Imagine for a moment that you have $100,000 to invest in the stock market.  Would you invest in one stock today, then pull your money from that stock and invest in another one tomorrow?  That strategy may or may not result in a gain for you.  However, most experts agree that the way to make money in the market is to stay in it for the long haul. Similarly, when you own your own business, you have to be willing to commit to your dream for the long term.

Where do I get some of this perseverance?

Unfortunately, perseverance doesn't grow on a tree somewhere so you can't go pick some up at your local office supply store.  It's a trait that you have to have, or at least you have to be able to cultivate.  Even just knowing how important perseverance is to success can help you stick it out just one more day when things are tough.

Thomas Edison once said, “Results!  Why, man I have gotten a lot of results.  I know several thousand things that won’t work.”  Every entrepreneur needs to tape this quote right above his desk and refer to it daily, or whenever times get tough and the temptation to quit becomes nearly overwhelming.

Having a plan for what to do if you experience one too many failures can help you find a way to keep going.  The time to plan for back-up is now, before you get into a situation where you are so depressed due to a short-term failure that you can't figure out a way to get back on track.  Consider who you can approach for a loan or investment, think about where you could work part time, decide what part of your lifestyle you could live without if you needed extra money to get through a tough time.  In short, decide now what you can do and for how long if you need to get through a financial slump.  When the slump comes, you won't have to waste valuable time coming up with a plan, you can put your carefully made plan into action, so you can get yourself back up on top that much sooner.

Perseverance is sometimes said to be an outgrowth of the passion and optimism we talked about in previous posts.  If you love what you are doing and are convinced of eventual success, it becomes a little easier to keep swimming.