The story is….Decide Not To Give Up! The other day in the grocery store, I ran into a store clerk. It was Memorial Day, so I asked him how he planned to spend his day. He said that he had to study, which turned our chat into a surprising direction. He was finishing up his degree after taking a break, at the same college I originally attended when I graduated from high school. Now he had a wife, a child, and a job, wow sounds familiar. When we finished talking, he went back to work and I went back to shopping. I felt like God was telling me to turn around, so I went back to share something with him. See my story was a little like Mike’s, I started college right after high school, but my journey lasted more than 4 years. My life took more than a few detours. I transferred to another school, went into the army reserves, went to work full time, got married and had a child. There were times when I lost focus and times when I got distracted, but I never gave up. I let Mike know it took me a while to finish too, 8 years to be exact, but once I got my degree I just kept going until I got my Masters. Why am I sharing this with you? You may of had a similar experience in that area or some other area of your life, perhaps you feel like this with your business, your career, or with where you are vs. where you feel like you should be in this stage of your life. It takes some of us a little longer to get started. Some of us don’t have the information we need, others may get stuck on what our next step should be, so we just keep standing there until we find out. I wanted to share a few things that helped me finally get done, and helped me move forward, and I believe they will help you, as well. The first one is BELIEF. I always believed that I would finish,and that was something I never allowed myself to second-guess. I didn’t know how, when, or where but I knew I was destined to finish what I had started, and I did. Do you have that same belief about your goal and about your desire? If not, talk to someone, write a plan, and post a picture of your dream until you get it. You need to solidify in your MIND, you WILL finish what you started. The second one is PERVERANCE. No matter what you have to DECIDE to take quitting and second-guessing yourself off the table. You may have to work extra hard. You may have to make some adjustments to how you do things, but no matter what you cannot quit, and you shouldn’t even allow yourself to talk about quitting. In life, it’s the people who keep going that win because most people give up along the way. Decide that giving up is not an option, and keep going. The third is have a PLAN. Know what you want to accomplish and make a plan. It is hard to stop a moving train, and it is also hard to stop someone who has a plan. A plan gives you something to focus on, and steps to follow. My clients and I focus on goals, but we always make sure they have a plan to get there. You can’t wish your way to success, you have to work your way to success. You need a plan, develop one and stick to it, and if you don’t know what to do ask for help. The fourth and final step is CONSISTENCY. The difference between success and failure is consistency. Everyday you have to wake up ready to do something that will push you into the direction of your dreams. You have to be willing to talk to people, share with people, and make choices and decisions that support you and the direction you are moving in. You have to decide to plan your work and work your plan, no matter what you see, what other people say and think, and even how you feel. Consistency is about moving and doing things even when it doesn’t look like you are accomplishing anything. No matter what, believe that your dream is possible, don’t ever give up on your dream, develop a plan to keep you moving, and lastly work on consistency, and don’t ever give up.