Sticking to it pays off in the long run! #000077

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Persistence Pays

By Gary Shotton

I was blessed to have a dad that demonstrated that business persistence pays. Dad’s goal in 1949 as a young farmer/rancher was to become a millionaire. In today’s equivalent, this would translate into much more purchasing power than then. Lessons on “persistence pays” were a natural part of my childhood as I saw dad stay the course through many obstacles, including the rise and fall of wheat and cattle prices.

At one point, dad was heavily invested in feeding cattle in commercial feedlots when the market dropped and he lost more than $600,000 in about eighteen months. With persistence and guts, he continued to invest in cattle knowing the market would cycle up again. Staying persistent was his only way to recover from the losses.

I started small and owned a moving and storage company for 17 years. After several years, I had 50 to 70 employees working full-time with trucks traveling throughout the US. I was very focused on learning how business worked but I had no idea how hard it would be to learn these lessons. I started with a borrowed horse trailer pulled behind our family car. Then I paid $2,500 cash for my first 20′ box truck and $1,000 cash for my second 12′ box truck.

One rainy day, my bigger truck developed a carburetor/fuel problem and my smaller truck became stuck in my front yard. I was virtually broke and every truck I had was out of service. Everything within me was telling me to quit, business ownership was too hard, and working for someone else would be the answer. But something within me would not let me quit!

I can guarantee that if you are pushing yourself to succeed, you will have times you will want to give up, but persistence pays.

A part of persistence for my wife and I comes in our determination to give to God’s work. I could document that we have been persistent tithers based on our personal household budget for more than 40 years. This is a starting point and the cornerstone to build upon.

If you have ever tried to play the guitar, you know that in the beginning it really hurts the end of your fingers until you build some callouses. But to be a good guitarist, you have only one option, which is to build callouses. View your challenges in business as building callouses for what is coming in your future.

Persistence pays. Make sure you are in line with God’s plan for your life then refuse to quit.

I hope you are benefiting from reading about my life. Please share some of your successes and failures. Others can be encouraged and benefit from hearing from you.