PERSISTENCE; Positive Words from Gambian Author ML Sabally

Hey Louis Friend,

In 1995 a friend suggested that I join a
university extension program in my West African
country called The Gambia. It was to be the first
ever university education program to be held in
my country. This suggestion came at a time when I
was facing severe frustration for not being able to go to
college. But wait a minute.

I was at a crossroads, debating whether to join
or not and wondering if the program would work.
Could you imagine my dilemma?

Finally I decided to join the program. Saint
Mary’s University (SMU) of Canada, the parent
university of the program, sent professors to my
country to conduct intensive 6-week courses that
earned us undergraduate credits to be accumulated
over a minimum of 3 years for a degree. The program
was dubbed the Saint Mary’s University Extension
Program (SMUEP).

The courses started well and I and some 60 other
first intakes rejoiced at the opportunity to
pursue our long-cherished goals of attaining
university education. However, after the first
few courses problems (now I call them challenges)
emerged.

The situation gradually approached a crisis
proportion (at least in my mind)
And I approached yet another dilemma and I had to
make another decision as to whether to stay the
course or to quit. Can you guess what I did?

I decided to stay and persist to the end.

Now Louis Friend, persistence always produces great
results. The situation improved gradually and things kept
getting better.

On February 16, 1999 my country held its first
ever university convocation. I graduated as Valedictorian.

So Louis Friend, if you face a similar situation anytime,
do the thing that would move you in your positive directions.
If you have a goal, pursue it with persistence and a positive
mental attitude and always remember the old saying “a quitter
never wins and a winner never quits”.

Now let’s look at three quick steps to easily
build persistence. These are in tune with
Napoleon Hill’s philosophy of success:

-state your goals clearly and develop a burning
desire to achieve them
-develop a sound plan to get what you want and
work your plan
-align your work with positive thoughts and block
out all negative influences

Review these steps over and over and act on them.
Remember this think called ‘positive thinking’ is
also positive ACTION!

Yours in Positive Thinking,

Sabs