Some of you are aware that a few months ago they discovered that my cancer had come back, so it was off to radiation treatment for me, with all the side effects and such you imagine. It kinda stopped me in my tracks in my personal project to transition my own work to a more web-available model.

I finished the last treatment early this week and already I am feeling stronger. I expect, and I do mean EXPECT that I will get back to full strength again soon. Already I am able to put in more work each day.

It is frustrating to have something knock us for a loop when we have plans and goals. It is also frustrating when things don’t go exactly according to plan or promise, when we put our plans on a schedule and life, circumstances or (more often) ourselves blows things up. The temptation is to give up, or to say we have failed.

I am a decade into coaching and consulting now. Let me tell you one of the most important things I have learned. To achieve the success you want takes more than work. It takes patience.

It take patience because stuff gets in the way. It takes patience because sometimes we get in our own way and it is easier emotionally to say “I failed” than to persist and risk failing again. It takes patience because sustained success takes a lot of underlying ground work when it seems like nothing is “happening” when in fact the most important things are happening.

You just can’t see it.

I have spent a lot of time looking back at the last decade’s work asking “Why do my clients succeed?” There are as many reasons as there are clients. But one thing, ONE, is consistent. They . are patient and persistent. This is true whether it is a corporate client developing a marketing campaign, changing corporate culture, or building powerful new leaders internally. It is true of coaching clients whether they are executives, project managers, engineers, creatives, people in non-profits or in ministries.

You have to have patience to have sustained success. Patience with the process. Patience with yourself and the people around you. The idea of instant success is seductive and a lot of people market it.

The only problem is that for every one person who got that instant success, a thousand fail. And for every thousand who have the patience and persistence, nearly all of them succeed. There’s no secret to it. It’s just the way the world works. Because process builds a foundation of stone. And that is what you can build on for a long time.

So let me ask you a question? Do you have the patience and persistence to succeed? Because it is more important than any book, webinar, or technique you choose to achieve your success. It is more important than talent or skill or connections.

I learned this the hard way. I learned this the long way. It has been been true in my successes, and the lack of it has proven true in my failures. It is so true I always talk about it early, early in my coaching and consulting gigs. I work hard not just to provide good help, but to help my clients stay enthused and involved as they move through the less exciting parts of the path.

So ask yourself a question. Are you patient enough for success?

Be well. Travel wisely,

Tom

PS – Watch this space, I will be presenting a free class on this very subject soon.