In the 1990 film, “Pretty Woman,” Julia Roberts’ character, Vivian, is a prostitute who is “picked up” by Richard Gere’s character, Edward. Soon after the two meet, Vivian tells Edward that she did not go very far in school, she then asks Edward, who is a very successful businessman, “How far did you go?” To which he replies, “I went all the way…”
This is perhaps my favorite line in the film, because it elucidates the difference between those who start a race, and those who finish it.
To succeed, you have to go all the way!
Lots of people start to improve themselves …they start to write a book, they start to get fit, they start to launch a successful business, they start school, they start to lose weight, they start to be the CEO…but they never finish the race.
In the movie “Hitch,” when Will Smith’s character, Hitch, is trying to get a date with Eva Mendes’ character, Sara Melas, she turns him down during the first two attempts, stating that she has other conflicting obligations, to which he replies, “Do you know the definition of perseverance, Miss Melas? To which she responds, “An excuse to be obnoxious?” To which he replies, “Continuing in a course of action without regard to discouragement, opposition, or previous failure…”
Are you willing to persevere?
It’s not enough to start the race, you have to cross the finish line. And that takes perseverance.
The difference between those who succeed, and those who don’t, is that the successful keep going despite opposition. They go around the opposition, they go over the opposition, they go under or through the opposition, but they do not sit on the sidelines making excuses. The situation is, what it is. What are you going to do about it? Are you going to persevere? Are you going to turn difficulties into diamonds?
Finish the race. Don’t settle for achieving 75 percent of the goal, don’t settle for 90 percent, finish the race!
The Difference
The difference between the professional and the amateur, is that the professional kept going, the difference between the novice and the expert, is that the expert kept going, the difference between an apprentice and a master, is that the master kept going. Keep going!
Newt Gingrich said, “Perseverance is the hard work you do after you get tired of doing the hard work you already did.”
Those who succeed don’t stop doing the hard work, that’s the difference. There were lots of people who decided to get fit at the beginning of this year, most of them didn’t make it, some of them did, and the difference is that the ones who made it, didn’t stop doing the hard work! They didn’t stop when they felt like quitting, they didn’t stop when they made a mistake, they didn’t stop when they had challenges; they just didn’t stop!
That’s the difference, that’s it, don’t stop! You have a goal, you have a vision you’re trying to achieve, then don’t stop until it’s achieved, winner’s don’t stop. And when the goal is achieved, guess what, winners keep going, and they go, and they go, and they go, until the crowd is left in the dust. Never stop!