Category Archives: Persistence

Never give up

Posted on January 26, 2017 by vincentsmithauthor

There’s a famous story about Winston Churchill being invited to speak at his old school – the famous Harrow Public School – and the essence of the story is that Churchill stood to his feet before the assembled school and … Continue reading →

Posted in Courage, Perseverance, Persistence | 2 Comments

Persistent attention

Posted on January 16, 2017 by vincentsmithauthor

Some years ago a magazine installed a new computer system to send out subscription notices to customers who had fallen behind with their payments. But something went wrong with the program, and before the error was discovered a certain rancher … Continue reading →

Posted in God's faithfulness, Persistence | Leave a comment

Hope is more than wishful thinking

Posted on December 20, 2015 by vincentsmithauthor

The end of the Cold War saw the emergence of some amazing figures in Eastern Europe. One of them was Vaclav Havel, a Czech poet and former political prisoner who went on to become the leader of the Czech republic. … Continue reading →

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‘Just stay in the race’

Posted on September 22, 2015 by vincentsmithauthor

When Cecil B. DeMille was making the movie Ben Hur, he decided that Charlton Heston should drive the chariot himself in that great chariot race scene, rather than just using a stunt man double. However, learning to drive a four … Continue reading →

Posted in Living Life, Perseverance, Persistence, Positive Thoughts, Victory, Winning | Leave a comment

‘Disappointed? Often! Discouraged? Sometimes! Defeated? Never!

Posted on July 6, 2015 by vincentsmithauthor

It’s said that Thomas Edison performed fifty thousand experiments before he succeeded in producing a storage battery. You’d think he’d have had some serious doubts along the way. But when asked if he ever became discouraged working so long without … Continue reading →

Posted in Courage, Defeated, Despair, Disappointed, Disatisfaction, Discouraged, Faith, Persistence | Leave a comment

Hold the line

Posted on June 5, 2015 by vincentsmithauthor

A woman once phoned a theatre to say she’d lost a valuable diamond brooch and thought it might have happened there the night before. The manager told her to hold the line while he went to look. He searched thoroughly … Continue reading →

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Don’t give up

Posted on December 18, 2014 by vincentsmithauthor

Have you ever wondered how come a can of WD 40 got such a strange name? Well the W D stands for ‘water displacement’, and 40 refers to the number of times the inventors tried to develop a formula that … Continue reading →

Posted in Doing what has to be done, Dreams, Failure, Great Endeavours, Life's journey, Making the most of what you've got, Persistence | Tagged , | Leave a comment

The last shall be first

Posted on September 25, 2014 by vincentsmithauthor

Do you remember when Steven Bradbury won Australia’s only Olympic gold medal for ice-skating? The one thing that stands out about him is persistence. In an earlier competition he cut his leg and almost bled to death. Then he broke … Continue reading →

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Disappointed but not defeated

Posted on September 11, 2014 by vincentsmithauthor

You’ve probably heard how Abraham Lincoln was defeated seven times before winning the Presidency of the United States, and how Vincent van Gogh only ever sold one painting during his lifetime, even though today they bring tens of millions of … Continue reading →

Posted in Courage, Defeated, Disappointed, Discouraged, Jesus, Persistence | Tagged , | Leave a comment