Good Luck is Another Name for Tenacity of Purpose

I want to focus on tenacity in this article. Tenacious people commit to three things. First, they take personal responsibility for their success. They know they are responsible for their own life and career success. They are willing to do the things necessary to succeed. Second, tenacious people set high goals - and then do whatever it takes to achieve them. Third, tenacious people know stuff happens as they go through life. They realize they will encounter many problems and setbacks. Tenacious people choose to react positively to the negative stuff that happens and move forward toward their goals. I live in Denver; the weather here is very changeable. Last year on December 21 , the first day of winter, we had 60 degree weather. That night the weather announcer on TV reminded us we had snow on the last day of Summer. This got me thinking about the unpredictability of life. As I frequently say to my career success coach clients, stuff will happen as you go through life – good stuff, bad stuff, happy stuff, sad stuff, encouraging stuff, frustrating stuff. However, it's not stuff that happens that's important, it's how you react to it. You cannot control the people and events in your life. You can control how you react to the people and events in your life. I choose to react positively to the people and events in my life – especially the bad stuff, sad stuff and frustrating stuff that happens to me. I choose to tenaciously follow my purpose and dreams. And I urge you to do the same if you want to create the life and career success you want and deserve. I know this isn't always easy. In fact, it's seldom easy. But the harder you find it to react positively to negative people and events, the more important it is for you to do so. Don't blame people or circumstances when things go wrong. Instead, choose to be tenacious and learn the lesson behind every less than successful relationship or event in your life. When you look for the lesson behind problems, setbacks and failures you are being tenacious; you are taking responsibility for your life and career success. Find the lessons in the bad stuff that happens and then do something to put those lessons to work. Commit to taking responsibility for yourself, your life and your career success. Put yourself in the driver's seat. Don't let events and people stop you from achieving your goals. Be persistent. Be tenacious. As I write this, I'm reminded of the famous quote on persistence by Calvin Coolidge…

“Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common that unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated failures. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent."

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The common sense career success coach point here is simple. Successful people commit to taking personal responsibility for their life and career success. They heed the advice in Tweet 10 in Success Tweets: "Emerson says, 'Good luck is another name for tenacity of purpose.' Find your purpose and pursue it tenaciously." Only you can make you a success. You have to take personal responsibility for creating the life and career success you want and deserve. Tenacity and persistence are the hallmarks of people who are committed to taking personal responsibility for their life and career success. Tenacious and persistent people keep going; even in -- no especially in -- the face of difficulties and problems. Promise yourself that you will commit to taking personal responsibility for your life and career success. Be persistent. Be tenacious. Keep at it, and you will reach your goals. Read more » articles by this approved expert.