Persistence: Pushing Through When Things Are Tough

Pushing through challenges to achieve anything is tough. It can be tempting to just throw in the towel, to give up and resign ourselves to the negativity that has entered our lives.

But if you want to make the very most of your life, you need to learn how to push past whatever barriers are placed in your way.

When you can improve your ability to navigate through the difficult times, you not only live a happier life, but you also grow as a person. Here’s some examples of when persistance lead to success.

Walt Disney: When we think of Walt Disney we think of things like Mickey Mouse, Disneyland or Movies like Finding Nemo and Toy Story. But Disney had to overcome things like Dyslexia, bankruptcy, family hardships and constant failure to achieve this.

Abraham Lincoln: One of the most popular & successful presidents America ever had. Not only did he help end slavery in the United States, but he also chartered the declaration of independence. But Lincoln had a very tough journey battling with depression, losing eight elections, and failing in two business ventures before he became president.

Winston Churchhill: Winston Churchill was a British writer, military leader and statesman. Twice named prime minister of the United Kingdom, he forged alliances with the United States and Soviet Union to defeat Nazi Germany in World War II. But In the First World War, he led the troop who invaded Turkey in order to establish a southern link with Russia, which resulted into a complete failure and loss of many young soldiers from Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, ANZAC. In the Second World War he was chiefly responsible for taking over Norway and he was defeated by the German army. In spite of all the failures and criticism, Churchill is regarded as one of the greatest leaders and orators of the 20th century.

Helen Keller: An advocate for women’s suffrage, the poor, and the disabled, who wrote 12 books despite being blind and deaf. Keller is also famously known for learning to speak and read despite these struggles.

Mark Twain: The popular author best known for writing The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. But Twain had to overcome a number of bad investments which lead to bankruptcy.

Charlie Chaplin: Chaplin was an iconic figure of the silent-film era and one of film’s first superstars, elevating the industry in a way few could have ever imagined. However, Hollywood rejected Charlie because his act was “too silly to sell”

Gandhi: Mahatma Gandhi is often praised as the man who defeated British imperialism with non-violent agitation. He was famous for being a man who fought in a non-violent way to accomplish his goals and made a difference to an entire country. He was put in jail multiple times for protesting, with his longest time being 2 years. He kept on fighting through obstacles and even faced many assassinated attempts as many disagreed with his politcal beliefs.

Andrew Carnegie: A Scottish-born American industrialist who led the enormous expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century. He was also one of the most important philanthropists of his era. But Carnegie grew up poor, had to work overly hard, battled with insecurities often and was self-conscious about his height (reported to be between 5-0 and 5-3) and rarely let himself be photographed standing next to someone.