Price to Pay

Price To Pay

My mentor John Maxwell is fond of saying, “Anything worthwhile is always uphill.”  When we start to believe that and not try to look for shortcuts, we realize that there is a Price To Pay for success, for personal victory, for healthy relationships, and on and on.  If we expect breaks and shortcuts in a process or life itself, we will inevitably come up short eventually.  When we fail to pay the price for something by making a personal effort, working on the difficulties and problems, using our creativity, we stop developing.  We must pay the fee to be successful at what we are doing.

What price do you have to pay to get better?  How much do you want that victory?  If you want something, and you hold that image in your mind, then you will work to pay the price toward success.  When things get complicated, when we are in that middle ground between victory and defeat, so many of us give up.  But that is when you’re paying the price.  By holding your image precisely, you will keep going.  Others will be left behind.  What is the key to paying the price?  Persistence, Perseverance, and Precision.

Persistence includes our resolve to make something happen.  It is our resolution and determination to meet the problems and solve them. When we approach the challenges along our path with a certain stubbornness, we begin to get our creative juices flowing.  We start to think about what will be and how to make things work, rather than dealing in defeat and obstacles that eventually discourage us.  This tireless effort is where so many fall short on their journey to their victory.  It is the long haul to success that involves paying the price.

Perseverance is the insistence that we have to see something through to success.  It involves being willing to travel the journey to success with resolve, determination, and grit.  When we recognize that there is a price to pay for this success, we begin to question if something is worth it or not.  So often talk ourselves out of our goal because we reason that something isn’t worth the effort.  Then I say, we didn’t want it bad enough in the first place.  The journey to paying the price starts with a clear vision, a reason, and an image of how we define success.  It must be precise and planted in your heart; otherwise, the self-doubts will creep in and push us off track.

Precision is the exactness and accuracy with which we execute a plan to lead ourselves and others to fruition something we want to happen.  We move slowly to go fast.  Recently, I had a painter paint some ceiling beams in my home, which were very high.  It took a great deal of time to paint just one beam with all of its edges.  He went very slow on the edging to achieve the level of quality that he was after.  So it is for us, the exactitude and strictness with which we hold ourselves and others to help us pay the price along the way.  It is the standard to which everyone on our team conducts themselves.

Here is what I know, When we realize that everything worthwhile is uphill, that there is a price to pay to be that leader, that person, that husband or wife, that father to our children, or that project leader at work, then we resolve to pay the price necessary for success.  Once we arrive at this conclusion, we begin to find the success that we so earnestly desire.  There is a well-known story about a classical piano player, Authur Rubenstein.  He had just finished performing a brilliant concert, and one of the patrons came up to shake his hand.  She said, Oh, that was wonderful. I wish I could play like that.  Rubenstein answered, No, you don’t, or you would.  He said that he pays the price every day when he prepares and pushes himself to get better.  So many others do not or are not willing.  What price do you have to pay to get better?  Will you do it?

I have a separate post on Perseverance here Perseverance – Dr. Rich Patterson (pattersonphd.com)

Here is one on Teaching Persistence – Dr. Rich Patterson (pattersonphd.com)

Here is an excellent link to 10 Ways to Develop Perseverance in Children (coloradocac.com)

Yours for a Better Life,

Rich