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Read time: 1-2 min.
Henry Ward Beecher once said, “One difference between perseverance and obstinacy is that one often comes from a strong will, and the other from a strong won’t.”
We all have persevered in many ways during the course of our lives. Here’s one of my more memorable stories.
When I worked for the Navy Federal Credit Union (NFCU), I was a records clerk. I was responsible for 3 large “Lektrievers” of about 3,000 files total. We dealt with NFCU member’s files all day long-helping them with getting their member file to the right department when they wanted to borrow some money from the credit union. After about a year of this mind numbing, boring, monotonous job, our boss came through one day and proceeded to tell us that on top of our jobs, we had to go through the entire 3000 files and purge the old mangled, torn files and replace them with new files for the members. Of course not every file was ripped and haggled but many were.
Believe me, I tried to incorporate that chore into my everyday work but just simply could not get it done during my 8-5 job responsibilities. I was efficient, organized and had simplified my job down to the nuts and bolts of getting things done on time but I just couldn’t do the purging during the day.
So the only answer was to come in 30 minutes early, three days a week. I guess the boss saw the perseverance and diligence, because a year later when I finished the project, I was promoted to trainer of the records clerks. This was my first-ever job in the training industry, and the forerunner of my present job as professional organizer and owner of With Time To Spare.
But don’t let this story fool you about the real value of perseverance. I was blessed to receive that promotion, but through that experience, perseverance was worked into my character and has continued to serve me these past 30 years.