Perfectly Paired P’s

By Jay Winchester

For many, 2009 will go into their memories as a year of struggle, while they hope that 2010 will be a year of success. Making the most of your experiences in the past year in order to help ensure your triumphs in the year to come makes perfect sense. Just don’t let go of one in order to too quickly grasp the other. There are lessons to be learned on both sides of the transition from last year to this one.

If you were among the companies and individuals that made it through 2009 in relatively good shape, count your blessings. Many did not. If you did, however, you learned an important lesson and picked up a key character trait while traveling what became an ever increasingly bumpier ride: perseverance.

Webster’s online defines perseverance this way (inferring a portion of this definition from its root word, persevere): the act or condition of persisting in a state, enterprise, or undertaking in spite of counterinfluences, opposition, or discouragement. If that sounds like your experience in 2009, raise your hand! Perseverance is the primary means for building character, both in individuals and companies. It is the essence of striking out on your own, encountering opposition, taking a fall and still finding a way to pick yourself up and keep moving in the right direction.

Perseverance also serves as a precursor to prosperity. History is filled with examples of those who persevered through some very difficult times only to emerge into lives of prosperity and great success. Don’t confuse the concept of prosperity with being wealthy. They are not necessarily synonymous. Our good friend Webster reminds us that prosperity is defined as the condition of being successful or thriving.

Hopefully, 2009 served as a crucial reminder that there is more to life than money. In fact, we learned that the art of avarice leads to a very slippery slope. Yes, it is appropriate for a business to be focused on making a profit and providing its investors with solid revenues translating into a substantial ROI. However, those should not be the only goals business owners pursue. A truly prosperous life is one that overflows with richness in every area: personal development, relationships, family, faith, health, well-being, attitude and, lastly, an appreciation for the struggles that led to prosperity. Surviving those struggles required you to persevere through circumstances that have made you stronger, smarter and better prepared for recognizing prosperity when it comes your way.

As we transition from 2009 to 2010, take time to inventory the lessons you learned from persevering through so much in the past year. Then take those lessons and apply them to becoming genuinely prosperous in the coming year. Remember the words of John D. Rockefeller: “I do not think that there is any other quality so essential to success of any kind as the quality of perseverance. It overcomes almost everything, even nature.”

About the Author
Jay M. Winchester is the owner and operator of The Winchester Group, a Christian media company specializing in delivering professional writing, editing and content creation services to companies of all sizes, including members of the Fortune 500. Since 1994, his byline has appeared over 450 times in a variety of publications, many with national distributions. Jay has written long-form direct response television and other commercial spots for Tony Little, Reliant Interactive Media and others. He is the former Managing Editor of two bi-monthly journals for writers, American Writers Review and Writing for Money. He is also the Managing Editor, Producer and voice for the Bay Area Business Minute, broadcast each workday on NewsTalk 820 AM, WWBA. He is a regular contributor to Bay Area Business Magazine.