“Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking and you will find. Keep on knocking and the will be opened to you.” (Matthew 7:7)
There’s a point in everyone’s journey of achieving a goal where you may feel stuck! You want to shift careers from one industry to another so you’ve sent your resume to dozens of jobs postings and you’ve heard nothing. You’ve been trying to pitch your book idea to publishers and you keep getting rejected. You’ve tried to save money for your new business venture and you end up tapping into those funds every week. Or you’ve been praying for healing, a mended relationship or a financial breakthrough and it seems like God is silent.
It’s in those moments where we must embrace the power of persistence! As women, we tend to be naturally more timid and less aggressive than men. A man can see a job posting where he only has two of the 10 qualifications listed and he’ll still apply. A woman can have 7 of the 10 qualifications listed, feel inadequate and choose to forego her application.
Just because you’re meeting opposition or things may not be going the way you anticipated does not mean that you aren’t right where you’re supposed to be. Every person who has achieved their dreams can give you story after story of the hurdles they had to overcome before realizing their desired outcome.
You cannot sit back and wait for opportunities to fall at your feet, sometimes you will have to go after them in full force. Just because you hear a “no” does not mean that you stop there. You have to be persistent! When I pitched my book to my publisher, they originally declined. However, I asked if they would give me an opportunity to get on the phone with them and discuss. They agreed and the rest is history. If I wasn’t persistent, I would have never received my publishing contract.
So you’ve sent your resumes to those jobs and you’ve heard nothing. Have you tried to send a follow-up email? And even if you didn’t get the job, shake it off and move on to the next potential job. If you’ve tried to save money for your new business but can’t, tell yourself that this week you are going to take at least $25 out of your check first to put aside in your savings account. Or better yet, track your spending habits and come up with ways that you can cut back.
You’ve been praying for that particular prayer and nothing yet? Well God himself tells us to keep on asking. So be persistent in your prayers with Him and trust Him to give you what you need to carry you through until He answers.
Being persistent means to stand firm in a course of action in spite of difficulty or opposition. Maybe you have to change your strategy instead of simply giving up. Maybe you’ve been emailing schools to promote your after-school program, well how about picking up the phone and calling the schools? You’re not getting orders for your catering business but your only focus has been social media marketing, perhaps you should try becoming a food vendor at an upcoming festival to increase your brand’s visibility.
If you don’t embrace the power of persistence, someone else will. There’s a difference between being persistent and being overly aggressive to the point that it’s unattractive. Start getting creative and think of new ways you can accomplish your goals. If you’ve allowed discouragement or a few setbacks to stop you, I want you to get back up and be committed to your dream!
We live in a microwave society where we want everything to be handed to us or we want greatness overnight. You have to work at what it is that you desire and I believe that if we always got exactly what we wanted when we wanted then we would never grow. Or even worse, we might ruin an opportunity because talent catapulted us to a place where our character couldn’t sustain us.
Keep asking, keep believing and keep going!
And if you want some help in creating ideas to help you achieve your goals, I’m available to work 1-on-1 with you in a Strategic Goal-Setting Session or you can download last month’s teaching on Mastering Your Goal & Manifesting Your Vision here. If you have any questions about either, let me know!
Continue to shine brightly!
XOXO,
Maria I. Melendez
@embraceherlegacy