Weekly Thought > Personal Growth > Don't Ever Give Up

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Don't Ever Give Up

Fred listed 5 âœdon’ts❠for successful living:

1) Don’t ever give up 2) Don’t look back 3) Don’t delay accepting failure 4) Don’t settle for âœit might have been❠5) Don’t panic

This week features # 1

One time I was working with J. Mack Swigert, esteemed attorney with the Taft Law Firm in Cincinnati, on an extremely difficult labor negotiation case. It was not only difficult; it seemed impossible for us to win. Feeling the need for a mattress to fall on in the event of loss, I started listing the various reasons we might not win. He stopped me cold with this comment, âœFred, it’s better to win. You don’t have to explain a win, and you can’t explain a loss.❠And then he added with a smile, âœThey pay better fees for winning.â

A person should never spend time thinking about reasons for giving up, for slowing down, or stopping. This is precisely why the follow through in golf is so important. Every golf pro strives for the âœhigh finish.❠Actually, it doesn’t have anything to do with hitting the ball; it comes after the ball is hit. But follow through shows that the golfer didn’t start stopping before hitting the ball. Most duffers start the process of stopping the club before striking the ball. The high follow through is evident of not quitting. In similar fashion, a person who develops the habit of winning won’t quit at a crucial time, either consciously or unconsciously.

I once held a seminar for young men with serious financial losses from an economic downturn. It was their first time to lose, and they were confused and shaky. We called the seminar: âœFor Losers, not Quitters.❠Losing is a temporary condition; quitting is an attitude.

Mike Todd, the Hollywood mogul, once said, âœI have been broke many times, but never poor.❠Broke was temporary; poor was an attitude. Broke is in the pocket; poor is in the mind.

Giving up on a solution dries up the creative mental juices. Keeping on keeping on is a good habit to form for successful living.

This week consider: 1) How do I avoid giving up? 2) Where should I focus on losing, not quitting? 3) What can I do to share this thinking with others?