Without This, Don’t Bother Being in Sales

Mel Fisher knew it was there. Somewhere. “It” was the Atocha, a Spanish ship that sank off the southern coast of Florida in 1622. All he had to do was find it and he would be able to get his hands on its treasures—namely silver and gold coins, Colombian emeralds, and other valuable artifacts. And so, Mel searched.

And searched.

And searched.

Every day that he got on the ship he effectively sent the same message to his crew: “Men, today’s the day.” Every day for 17 years. That’s how long it took him to find the Atocha and what turned out to be $450 million worth of treasure.

•••••••

Her name was Cha Sa-soon and she wanted to learn how to drive so that she could take her grandchildren to the zoo. So, Ms. Cha enrolled in a class at the Jeonbuk Driving School in South Korea.

Similar to here in the States, getting a Korean driver’s license requires passing a road test and a written test. Ms. Cha passed the road test with flying colors. However, she failed the written test. Naturally, she took it again. Unfortunately, she failed again. So she kept trying; and she kept failing. Finally, she passed.

On her 960th try.

•••••••

If my house was on fire and I had time to save only one thing, I would run past my computer, leave all the pictures behind, and scramble to find a Father’s Day card that my daughter, Madeline, gave to me two years ago. In it, she spoke of the number of times I was knocked to the canvas and the number of times that I got back up. It is one of my most prized possessions.

I didn’t search for gold for 17 years and I got my driver’s license on my first try, but I know the definition of perseverance firsthand. I know how important it is; and I know that I would not be here today without it.