Conviction and Persistence

By Robert Middleton - Action Plan Marketing

I don't know about you, but I was glued to my TV and computer on Sunday, the final day of the House debate on the heath care bill.

As you know by now, the decision came down on the side of the president and the Democrats and we now have a health care bill that will change the health care game for some time to come. (Assuming, of course that it passes in the senate.)

Like most people, I have mixed feelings about this legislation, but that's not what today's eZine is about.

What I found the most fascinating about the final day of debate is that there really wasn't any debate. It was simply one side adamantly stating their position and then the other side just as adamantly stating theirs.

Back and forth ad infinitum.

It was kind of like a football game. You cheered for the side you were for and booed for the side you were against. Nobody was listening to each other. That wasn't the point. The point was to be right above all else. The point was to win.

Well, although it was kind of surreal, I also kind of liked it.

I couldn't help thinking, "What if Independent Professionals took such a firm, unyielding position when it came to succeeding in their business? What if they could take a solid stand and stick with it no matter what?"

No, I don't mean being belligerent and obnoxious.

I mean being ridiculously persistent. Such as...

Networking Persistence

What if you went to a networking event, and instead of staying for an hour or so speaking to people you already knew, you came early, left late, met as many people as you possibly could, collected a pocket full of cards, entered them into your database and then followed up with them the next day?

Web Site Persistence

What if you built a quality website, and instead of settling for an OK site, you kept working on it, improving it, testing headlines, content and offers? What if you worked at gathering names and emails to build your list and kept offering valuable information until your ideal clients ultimately responded?

Presentation Persistence

What if you put together a marketing presentation, and instead of settling for something adequate, you stayed up late to refine your talking points and overheads until they they blew your audience away with your powerful arguments?

This is the kind of stuff that the Democrats and Republicans have been doing non-stop for over a year.

Do you understand that it requires nothing less than this kind of persistence and commitment to achieve the kind of success you want in your business?

But you don't have to slaughter your opponent to succeed!

That is, unlike politics, it isn't winner take all That's pretty brutal (and probably why we're not in politics)!

Instead, you can have amazing success in your business by simply doing the best you can and persisting. If you persisted half as much as the average political party, however, you would be successful beyond your wildest dreams.

So next time you tune into the ongoing political discourse, don't just take sides, don't just disparage the messy process, but take notice of the conviction and persistence of politicians (no matter what side they're on) and see what you can learn from it.

I'm going to use this insight to inspire me to do great things in my business this year. What about you?

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The More Clients Bottom Line: To produce results in our businesses, we need to have the strength of our convictions and to persist against all odds. And if we need to have the health-care debate to inspire us, so be it!

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What big thing are you going to take on this year with conviction and persistence? Please share your answer on the More Clients Blog by clicking on the comments link below.

Comments

[Susan Pomeroy]

Good one, Robert. I think it's true, it's surprisingly easy to settle for mediocrity. Especially when (for me, at least) there's a lack of confidence--as I often feel with marketing. But these days, and especially on the web, nothing is set in stone, and everything can be changed and reworked. I really admire businesses that can keep doing that. Thanks for the inspiration to be one of them!

[Nancy Francisco]

Thank you Robert. This was very helpful to read today. To keep persisting, doing what you can do. It seems so simple and yet not so easy when negative voices get the upper hand over what's really true.

I have been using your planning system and finding that really helpful in persisting, taking the next step. It helps to have a full list of actions to take. I am accomplishing more and refocusing faster. Thanks for the encouragement Robert.

Nancy