Tenacity Overcomes the Toughest Odds
Life happens. No matter how well-prepared you think you are, things happen that are beyond your control, and even the best of preparations, and most aggressive of advanced publishing schedules can get eaten away before your very eyes. Sometimes, you have to dig deep to find the inspiration, motivation, and tenacity that led you to be an entrepreneur in the first place.
I’d been doing a good job of staying 3 to 4 weeks ahead on my blog posts, until my eldest and most cherished boy, Dylan became ill. Nearly 2 weeks of running him to his regular vet, and then a specialty vet, only to lose him in the end used up every bit of my advanced publishing efforts in one fell swoop.
It’s taken me time to get back into the swing of things and start writing again. I took a couple of days off from doing anything, allowing my grief to pour out unchecked so I could ultimately move forward again with renewed energy, tenacity, and inspiration. Slowly, I’m refilling my queue, though inspiration is still sluggish. I prime the pump in any way I can, but sometimes just sitting down and starting is my biggest roadblock.
Finding Ways Around
I’m actually grateful in some ways, and regretful in others that I had no obligations to others
Photo- haru__q via Flikr
during this time so I could sort through my own mess of feelings unobstructed. Regretful because I know obligations to others would have forced me to get up, get moving, and get on with my life despite the enormous hole Dylan’s passing left. It meant depending on my own stubbornness and tenacity, as well as habits so deeply ingrained they were impossible to ignore.
I know I’m not alone in facing many challenges in the last year alone. I doubt any of you has escaped the need to revamp how you look at your business, your life, and your work in some way. Some are struggling to find ways to get past things like California’s AB-5, the looming spectre of the PRO Act which passed the House and moved on to the Senate on the Federal level, and is unfortunately, and in my opinion, short-sightedly supported by the current administration, and the more obvious demon, COVID.
The fact you’re still plugging along is a tribute to your perseverance and tenacity. If you’re like me, the success stories have been few and far between, but you’re not letting that pull you from your chosen path. You believe in yourself and the business you’ve created, and that’s all that matters. You’re willing to take the baby steps, the giant leaps, and the setbacks in stride, knowing they’re all part of the overall picture and plan.
Fall Down Seven Times, Get Up Eight
You may have been knocked down many times, but it’s the times you’ve gotten back up you’re counting, as well you should. Getting knocked down is easy. Getting back up and staying confident in your path is the hard part. Not everyone does it. Many give up and go back to working for others because they’re unable to rebound after the rug is pulled from under them.
You might think it’s because only the strong survive, but I think that’s only part of it. I think it requires a hefty dose of stubbornness and tenacity, and a belief in yourself that sees success where there’s no evidence it’s possible. You’re willing to learn from the setbacks and find new and different approaches when something doesn’t work as you’d hoped it would. You treat the process of growing your business like a science experiment; learning from what works, and from what doesn’t in order to build a stronger, more resilient base for the company; the business of your dreams.
Most of all, you allow your dreams to grow, expand, and even change to accommodate what you’re learning along the way. You’re flexible, and don’t hold onto an idea that’s proven not to be viable, instead looking for ways to turn it into something that is.
Inspiring With Strength and Tenacity
Though you may not see or feel it right now, you are truly one of the world’s innovators. Maybe
you’re meant to be another Jobs, Henson, Gates, Wright, or Winfrey. Maybe your influence will be on a smaller scale. Size doesn’t matter.
Persistence, perseverance, and tenacity do. Belief that what you’re doing is important, and worth continuing to pursue despite the odds is your superpower, and one you share with others on many levels, in every industry. Never let yourself forget how strong you are, and how important your contributions will be to those who follow.
Life will always find a way to send you setbacks; to dump you on your rump, and leave you to pick up the pieces. As long as you keep picking up the pieces and learning how to reassemble them into something stronger, you’ve won. As long as you know you’ll slide back a few hundred feet, and even lose your cushion like I did recently, but see it as an opportunity to build a better foundation, or even reinvent yourself, you’re one others will look to for inspiration and motivation.
Granted, you might not be in it for the purpose of being an innovator, or someone else’s inspiration. I know I’m not. But you will be anyway. I know because of the feedback I get myself just for showing up every day with something positive and inspirational to share, most of which isn’t even my own creation.
When All Else Fails, Show Up
Showing up despite the burdens, despite the traumas, sharing the struggles, the setbacks, the rebirths, and rebuildings is one of the most uplifting and supportive things you do for many you don’t even see. You’re a beacon in the darkness for those who have fallen on their own path, and are struggling to find a reason to get up and try again. Just as you look for inspiration in examples set by the men and women who came before you, overcoming odds, grappling with their own feelings of inadequacy, failure, and hopelessness, you are leading the charge for the next wave of innovators, and inspirers.
As hard as life gets, and as many steps as you might need to take back at times, I hope you continue to inspire, get up from every fall, and most of all, connect with those who both inspire and are inspired by you. Your true strength lies in the synergy created by being a part of the strong, supportive, tenacious whole.
About the Author
Sheri Conaway is a Holistic Ghostwriter, and an advocate for cats and mental health. Sheri 
believes in the Laws of Attraction, but only if you are a participant rather than just an observer. Her mission is to Make Vulnerable Beautiful and help entrepreneurs touch the souls of their readers and clients so they can increase their impact and their income.
If you’d like to have her write for you, please visit her Hire Me page for more information. You can also find her on Facebook Sheri Levenstein-Conaway Author.
Be sure to watch this space for news of the upcoming releases of ” Rebuilding After Suicide” and “Sasha’s Journey”.
