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Opinion and Commentary
Commentary: Dare To Be Great: What are you going to do when you give up?
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| Published on Monday, November 2, 2009 | Email To Friend Print Version
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By Spence M Finlayson
Due to the failing global economy, many persons have decided to give up on life. Whenever I encounter one of these individuals I ask them quite pointedly, “What are you going to do when you give up?” Yes, what are you really going to do? An unknown writer says “Anyone can give up, it’s the easiest thing in the world to do. But to hold it together when everyone else would understand if you fell apart, that’s true strength”.
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| Spence M Finlayson |
We must summon the will to keep going in the face of adversity, trials and major setbacks. Giving up is not an option. It was the great Prime Minister of Great Britain Sir Winston Churchill who uttered these famous words, “Never, never, never, never give up”. Yes, friends, when you are going through your “Job experience” you need to be still and look to God for His help with your difficulties. Psalm 37:7 says “Be still in the presence of the Lord and wait patiently for Him to act. Don’t worry about evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes.”
One thing that I know for sure is that “He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it in you.” I am a living testimony to this. I continue to be pleasantly “surprised” at how God has worked and continues to work in my life. I live with an attitude of gratitude! A few times I had considered giving up on my career as a motivational speaker and maybe a week later I would receive a call from an organization requesting my services in a big way. Today, I am truly living my purpose and quitting is definitely not an option. Legendary hHotelier Conrad Hilton said “Achievement seems to be connected with action. Successful men and women keep moving. They make mistakes but they don’t quit.”
Many times in life we give up too soon, when success is just around the corner or right over the next hill. I have a few friends who like to visit the famous Hard Rock Casino in South Florida. On a recent trip to Ft. Lauderdale, I decided to join them at the casino. I played the slot machines for awhile without much success. A Jamaican gentleman was playing next to me and he said “man did you see that!”. I said no, what are you talking about. He then said “I was playing that machine all night without any luck and as soon as I left it, this old lady came and hit the jackpot”. You see I knew that he gave up too soon.
An unknown author said “ Defeat may test you; it need not stop you. If at first you don’t succeed , try another way. For every obstacle there is a solution. Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. The greatest mistake is giving up.”
Boxing champion Evander Holyfield to me is the epitome of someone who never gives up. In his now famous trilogy of bouts with Riddick Bowe, Evander took a lot of beating during the fight but he always found a way to comeback and win. On Sunday October 25, the New Orleans Saints came back from a score of 24 to 10 at halftime to beat the Miami Dolphins 46 to 34. The Saints never gave up.My friend American motivational speaker Les Brown says, “It's not over until you win”. So today, friends, find a reason to keep you in the game because as long as you are in the game you have a chance to win. Get rid of all of your doubts, fears and limiting beliefs, you can make it if you try, if you don’t give up. Yes your wife or husband may have filed for divorce, yes your mate may have been unfaithful, yes you may have been demoted on your job, yes your cherished car may have been repossessed, yes you may have been evicted from your apartment, yes some of your checks have bounced, yes your 14 year old daughter is pregnant, but I am here to tell you don’t give up , you must persist.
Finally President Barack Obama says, “Making your mark on the world is hard. If it were easy, everybody would do it. But it’s not. It takes patience, It takes commitment and it comes with plenty of failure along the way. The real test is not whether you avoid this failure, because you won’t. It is whether you let it harden or shame you into inaction or whether you learn from it; whether you choose to persevere.” Don’t give up. Dare to be great!
Spence M Finlayson, Bahamian-born, world renowned motivational speaker and corporate trainer is the President & CEO of the Phoenix Institute for Positive Development & Empowerment, based in Nassau, Bahamas. He is the creator & host of Dare To Be Great TV Show which airs in 20 Caribbean countries and the United Kingdom. For speaking engagements he can be reached at 1-242-364-4011 or by email at phoenixinstitute@gmail.com or visit his website at www.phoenixinstitutepower.com | | | | Reads : 322 | | | |
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