Minding Your Ps and Ps - Persistence and Passion

For long term success in anything, we have to have both persistence and passion working for us.

Passion is the fuel that drives us forward and it is derived from dreams, values and principles that are at the core of our being. Passion is about the things we desire, that which we love. Passion is a powerful motivator and really the only motivator that has long term staying power.

Persistence is about choices and action. It is the day-to-day work of getting things done. If passion is the goal, persistence is the path that leads us there. Persistence is doing what works over and over again, and then doing it again. Persistence channels the flames of passion and makes them work in a focused and productive fashion.

Passion without persistence results in powerful and often messy explosions one after another. Persistence without passion will give us mundane and meaningless activity that is very neat and orderly, but of little consequence.

Sales people, like all people, tend to have certain natural abilities toward either passion or persistence. The key is to discover which we do more naturally and then balance that with some learning and effort to actualize the other. Are you more persistent or passionate by nature? Do you need to develop more skills of discipline and order, or are you in need of some desire and motivation?