Pesevere To Succeed

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By peace | August 3, 2007

Nothing in the world can take the place of perseverance. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. ~ Calvin Coolidge

A Great Achievement In Peter’s Life
One of the greatest turning points in Peter’s life happened when he was in Secondary three. From being a repeated failure in his studies, he managed to transform his academic life until he graduated from university with a good degree.

Since Peter was young, he had never paid much attention to his studies; in each major examination, he would just manage to scrape through barely with a pass. His worst subject was English. He never seem to pass for all his English examination, not even a class test. His English grammar, writing and comprehension was all below the school’s average. Despite the pleas from his parents, he refused to listen to their advice. His family was too poor to send him for any tutoring. Peter hung out in shopping centres after school and he would even play truant without his parent’s knowledge. The school’s discipline teacher knew Peter very well and Peter was often punished for his misdeeds in front of the whole school. Peter remembered distinctly that his first secondary school expelled him as they felt he was a hopeless case.

However, things changed after Peter’s father passed away. It was a sudden bout of heart attack and his life was extinguished like a flame. The vivid memory of him lying on the hospital bed and his words to Peter remained etched in his mind. Peter’s father told him to take over his responsibility in taking care of his younger brother and the entire family. Despite his delinquency, Peter’s father had told him that he loved him dearly. Peter was very sad upon hearing what his father had told him. It was the saddest moment of Peter’s life, and he could not stop crying.

Since then, Peter changed drastically. Peter went back to school and also took up a part-time job in a fast food restaurant. It was extremely difficult in the beginning but the words of his father spurred him on. In school, Peter made great strides in his studies — his examinations results were better now. He had managed to score a grade of B for his English this time. At home, Peter helped out with the housework and the caring of his brother as his mother had to work long hours.

Very often when Peter tried to sleep at night, he would think of his misbehaviour in the past. Back then, he had taken everything for granted — his family, his studies and his life. He had regretted and it was only after the tragedy of his father’s death that he managed to see the light; but it was all too late, his father was no longer around to see his change for the better. Despite all these, Peter refused to wallow in self-pity. He just wanted to fulfill his father’s wish to take care of the family from then on. And throughout the long years, it was Peter’s desire that fuelled his life.

As Peter graduated from the university, he felt his father’s pride within him. He had done him and his family proud. It was difficult to change but not impossible. Peter was glad that he had made the change for the better.

No man is worth his salt who is not ready at all times to risk his body, to risk his well-being, to risk his life in a great cause. ~ Theodore Roosevelt

Nothing can take place of persistence.
Talent will not: Thousands with talents are drifters.
Genius will not: Unrewarded genius is almost a proverb.
Education will not: The world is full of educated derelicts.
Persistence alone solves all the world’s big problems.