MKE Round 3 – Pilgrimage and Persistence

When on pilgrimage, persistence is hugely important!  As we started to read Scroll Three of the Greatest Salesman in the World this month, I thought about how persistence relates to the Camino and to the Master Key Experience.

Persistence

According to the dictionary on my computer, the definition of Persistence is:

Firm or obstinate continuance in a course of action in spite of difficulty or opposition – from Oxford Languages

And a few synonyms for Persistence:  steadfastness, endurance, tenacity, perseverance, constancy, stamina, grit, pluck.  Mark says that Persistence is more than just ‘not giving up.’  It is continuing to take the right actions, consistently, over time – until you reach your goal!

And from the Greatest Salesman in the World, Scroll 3:

Each day I am tested by life.  If I persist, if I continue to charge forward, I succeed.  I persist until I succeed.

I build my castle one brick at a time for I know that small actions, repeated, complete any undertaking.  I persist until I succeed.

So long as there is breath in me, that long I persist.  For now I know one of the greatest principles of success; if I persist long enough, I win.  I persist.  I win.  Og Mandino, The Greatest Salesman in the World

And Napoleon Hill talks about Persistence in Think and Grow Rich, describing it as “the sustained effort necessary to induce faith.”

Persistence is an essential factor in the procedure of transmuting DESIRE into its monetary equivalent.  The basis of persistence is the POWER OF WILL.  Willpower and desire, when properly combined, make an irresistible pair.

If you find yourself lacking in persistence, this weakness may be remedied by building up a stronger fire under your desire.

There is no substitute for persistence.  Those who have cultivated the HABIT of persistence seem to enjoy insurance against failure.  No matter how many times they are defeated, they finally arrive up toward the top of the ladder.  Napoleon Hill, Think and Grow Rich

Persistence and the camino de santiago

Let’s talk about the Camino and Persistence.  It takes a great deal of persistence (and tenacity, perseverance, stamina and grit!) to walk 20-30 km every day for a month or more.  You are constantly faced with obstacles.  Obstacles can be external – like weather, hills, difficult terrain, and such.  Or they can be internal or personal – like blisters, doubts, fears, illness, personal limitations.  And those personal limitations can be real or imagined – either way they can hinder your progress and even stop you altogether.

Ah, but the DESIRE to reach Santiago de Compostela is strong!  And as you are surrounded by others walking with you, you draw strength from each other.  With every ‘Buen Camino’ your persistence grows.  And with every church you pass or stop in to visit, the reality of the pilgrimage grows your desire.

Always I take another step.  If that is of no avail I take another, and yet another.  In truth, one step at a time is not too difficult.  I persist until I succeed.  Og Mandino, The Greatest Salesman in the World

Persistence and the master key experience

The pilgrimage of the Master Key Experience is very similar.  It takes all the persistence, perseverance, and grit that you can muster to carry on despite negative beliefs, unsupportive companions, busy schedules.  Again the obstacles can be internal or external.

Again, you can gain strength from your Master Key Tribe, from staying plugged in to the webinars and the members area.  With each repetition of ‘Do it Now’  your persistence grows.  With each reading of your DMP, with each sit – the reality of the pilgrimage grows your DESIRE.

I ignore the obstacles at my feet and keep mine eyes on the goals above my head, for I know that where dry desert ends, green grass grows.  I persist until I succeed.  Og Mandino, The Greatest Salesman in the World

One more quote:

Winners never quit and quitters never win.  Vince Lombardi

Buen Camino!