Persistence

By Joe

While reading today, I came across this quote by author Napoleon Hill. It was one of those quotes that I read, and had to go back and read over a few times. It's about persistence.

"Persistence is the direct result of habit. The mind absorbs and becomes a part of the daily experience upon which it feeds. Fear, the worst of all enemies, can be effectively cured by forced repetition of acts of courage. Everyone who has seen active service in war knows this."

I think everyone can learn something from this. If you want to accomplish something, whether its losing weight, becoming a better free throw shooter, or even breaking a bad habit, persistence is the only way to achieve it. A few years ago, if someone told me to run first thing in the morning I would have laughed in their face. Now, I can't start my weekdays without it.

When I was younger, just starting to play lacrosse, my Dad would force me to use my left hand while having a catch with him. He would stick me in the lefty Attack spot for my PAL lacrosse team. The result, was that I became so comfortable with using my left hand, it became just as strong, if not stronger than my right. Almost 15 years later when I got to college, what was I most known for? The fact that no one knew if I was a lefty or a righty. If I remember correctly, Inside Lacrosse's quote on me as a rising senior out of high school was, "Joe Yevoli - Is he righty? Is he lefty? Yes!" I can even remember teams yelling out "He's all left!" (You idiots know who you are.)

The point is, persistence is the only way to improve yourself, or reach your goals. Read that quote again, and again if you have to. Read it until you fully understand what it means, because this much I'm sure of...

If you don't fully understand it, you will get beat by someone who does.