"Never Quit!!! “Energy and persistence conquer all things.”

What does 'Quitters never win; winners never quit' mean?

If you quit you will never get what you want, but if you keep trying you will find a way to get what you want.

('Quitters never win, winners never quit, but those who never win and never quit are idiots' is a variation accredited to Larry Kersten

What It Means to Never Give Up

“Energy and persistence conquer all things.” — Benjamin Franklin

A few years back, I had an eureka moment. I realized my job in finance was affording me a nice lifestyle, but not a whole lot more. I didn’t feel fulfilled at a deep, personal level. I didn’t feel I was making a difference or using my talents to the fullest, so I decided it was time to make a switch and pursue my passions. The fact that I had just given birth to my first child certainly focused my attention on my future and all the operational struggles that come with being a new mother and trying to launch a new career as an entrepreneur. This was especially challenging as my new path required learning many new skills.

There have been a lot of challenges along the way. There were times when doubt cast a gloomy shadow over my aspirations and goals. Money became tight, and I wondered whether I would ever get off the ground. Sometimes I thought it would be a lot easier to give up on my dreams and go back to a career in finance. It certainly would have been easier — but I wouldn’t have been fully fulfilled. I vowed I would never, ever give up on my dream.

As a busy mother, working mother or mompreneur, it’s not difficult to feel overwhelmed, and maybe at those times you want to give up goals that are most precious to you but seem so far out of reach. If you’ve been feeling that way, here are five reasons why you should never, ever give up on a goal that is important to you.

1. Life isn’t about talk; it’s about commitment. A dream isn’t worth anything until you try to put it into practice. When you dedicate yourself to your dream, whatever it may be, you find yourself at the intersection of perception and reality. This idea has probably existed in your mind for years, taking on a particular shape and existing entirely as a function of your own imagination. Now, when you put it to the test, it’s time to get real. It’s time to give birth to the idea and fully commit to nurturing that dream the same way you would nurture a child.

2. Resilience and adaptation are the keys to a vibrant life and healthy mind. When you are trying to manifest any idea, there will be setbacks, failures and disappointments. Newsflash: Setbacks, failures and disappointments are good for you! They are the best education you can get, as they teach you to adapt. Giving up is like dropping out of school; you miss out on critical experiences and important lessons, and do not learn the enormous value of failure.

3. Quitting can become a habit. If you give up on the things that matter most to you, you will likely establish a pattern of giving up on anything when things don’t go the way you hoped. You will not learn the importance of persistence — and anything worthwhile requires persistence.

4. Values are the most important thing. Persisting with goals that are important to you means placing most significance on your values, rather than convenience or expedience. Hopefully, you wouldn’t ever give up on your values, and you wouldn’t give up on the ideas that reflect those values.

5. Self-belief is everything. Giving up on your important goals is tantamount to giving up on yourself. You are a unique person with your own gifts and talents and no one will invest in them more than you. Perhaps millions of people have had the same goals and dreams as you, but everyone manifests these aspirations differently — and uniquely.

So what does never giving up really mean? It means believing in yourself. It means willingness to accept “failure” so you can learn the critical skill of adaptation. It means not compromising on your most important values, and walking the walk, rather than just talking the talk. It means living the life you want and are passionate about.

I pushed through the struggles I faced during the startup of my new businesses, and learned a lot about my dream by implementing it and bringing it to life. I learned to adapt. I learned that if you’re not being challenged, you’re not living life to the fullest. I learned that if you follow someone else’s dreams, you won’t be as engaged and excited as you are when following your own. I’ve also learned that all of these benefits are good for your brain, as well as your soul. So never quit on the things that are important to you. Self-belief is the most important belief there is.

What it means to never give up?

It means believing in yourself. It means willingness to accept “failure” so you can learn the critical skill of adaptation. It means not compromising on your most important values, and walking the walk, rather than just talking the talk. It means living the life you want and are passionate about.

A Winner Never Quits and a Quitter Never Wins

There are only two options – either give up and accept it, or push, push, push until you overcome it. That’s really what strength training is about anyway. Every day is a mental challenge as much (or even more so) as it is a physical challenge.

Thomas Jefferson once said, “a strong body makes the mind strong.”? But the concept is much older than him, and has been said throughout history.

Moreover, the principle of overcoming adversity is the single most important factor in success. You find the theme repeated throughout history by all the most successful people, and it’s really driven home in the book Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill.

Winners never quit. Quitters never win. The choice is simple.

Which condition do you have to master before you can get successful?

Failure.

Napoleon Hill experienced poverty before becoming rich. Lance Armstrong had cancer before winning the Tour de France 7 times. Steve Jobs made Apple big 10 years after getting fired out of Apple.

Napoleon Hill spends a whole chapter in the Law of Success about failure and the 7 failures he experienced before becoming successful.

Every failure will teach you a lesson that you need to learn if you will keep your eyes and ears open and be willing to be taught. Every adversity is usually a blessing in disguise. Without reverses and temporary defeat, you would never know the sort of metal of which you are made. – Napoleon Hill, The Law of Success.

You would never know the sort of metal of which you are made. Winners know failure is temporary. Winners know increasing your failure rate increases your success rate. Winners know the only answer to failure is persistence.

"A quitter never wins and a winner never quits"

 

Vince Lombardi, a famous American football coach, once said, “A quitter never wins and a winner never quits”. We have heard of this saying at least once in our lives. And we all have had the opportunity to apply the saying to a part of our lives, be it in a sports team, in academics, at work or even at relationships. 

 

A winner is someone who is determined to reach his goals, no matter how arduous the journey may be. A winner is ready to face challenges and obstacles that may come in between him and his goals. On the other hand, a quitter gets perturbed by challenges, and in the midst, gives up. Because he is not determined to face the difficulties, he never reaches his goal and is declared a quitter.

 

Most of us are not born with talent and skills. We develop them over time. Pandit Ravi Shankar was a world renowned composer and musician who played the sitar. He was so passionate about music that he did not stop learning the sitar. Although he faced difficulties initially, he did not lose hope. He was determined to succeed, and he practised day and night to attain a high position in the international music industry. 

 Similarly, scientists like Issac Newton and Albert Einstein never gave up pursuing their dreams and interests just because some of their experiments failed. They strived hard to reach their goals and only rested when success touched their feet.

 To give up midway is easy but to continue despite challenges is difficult. That is why only winners are remembered for a long time. They are our role models, who teach us that it pays to never quit. Success only knocks on the doors of winners because they are determined in life. On the other hand, a quitter lives most of his life in regret because of his lack of motivation and dedication.

How do I stop quitting?

Here are some strategies for never giving up to help you the next time you want to quit.

Go Workout.

Watch Someone Do Something Impossible.

Listen To Your Go-To Song.

Climb A Mountain.

Find A Door And Go Through It.

Be Honest With Yourself.

Find Someone To Call You Out.

Wallow.

Strategies For Never QUITTING

Most things aren’t impossible, most people just give up too soon.

The number one reason people don’t get what they want is because they give up too soon. That’s a true stat that I just made up, but I would venture to guess it’s not far off. You’ve probably given up on a lot of things before.

• You didn’t get the first job you wanted – so you gave up.
• The first business you started working on failed – so you gave up.
• The first time you went out for a run, you puked – so you gave up.
• The first time you sent in a writing piece, you got turned down – so you gave up.

It could be anything, but chances are whatever it is, it boiled down to this: you didn’t get what you wanted right away so you gave up.

You called it in. You packed it up and you headed home.

NEVER QUIT

Perseverance, next to adaptability is the most important skill you can have. And it’s just that, a skill. Like any other skill in the world, you might be born with a more natural ability to persevere than others, but you can learn to stick with things and persevere if you want to. In fact, the one thing that sets people I know who succeed in the long run over the people who don’t is the ability to persevere, keep going and never give up.

The goal of this article is to get you to stop giving up!

Luckily, like everything, not giving up is a skill you can learn. Here are some strategies for never giving up to help you the next time you want to quit.

1. Go Workout

A long run can clear your mind in ways that few other things can. Same with a solid session of throwing around a lot of heavy weight. Get moving. Go do something different. Push yourself physically. The best way to get past imaginary limits is to make them as physical as possible and then physically smash them into pieces. When you do that it reminds you that the limits that seem so real in your mind, aren’t real at all. When you’re in the weight room, the iron never lies. It shows you exactly who you are and that with solid hard work you can overcome something you used to think was impossible to do.

The Iron never lies to you. You can walk outside and listen to all kinds of talk, get told that you’re a god or a total bastard. The Iron will always kick you the real deal. The Iron is the great reference point, the all-knowing perspective giver. Always there like a beacon in the pitch black. I have found the Iron to be my greatest friend. It never freaks out on me, never runs.

Friends may come and go.

But two hundred pounds is always two hundred pounds. – Henry Rollins – Iron and the Soul

2. Watch Someone Do Something Impossible

What can you do? You’re just a little tiny person on earth. Good thing people are capable of doing incredible things.

When it feels like you can’t do anything, it can be helpful to be reminded by others who have done amazing things despite the annoying hindrance of being merely human.

• One person can start a movement that changes a country.
• One person went from getting cut from his high school team to the greatest basketball player ever.
• One person helped start Apple – the world’s most valuable company.

“Everything around you that you call life was made up by people who are no smarter than you.” – Steve Jobs

Go watch someone do something impossible. Then go do something impossible yourself. One person can change the world. Be that person.

3. Listen To Your Go-To Song

Everyone needs a good pump up song. I don’t really listen to music much when I’m working out, but I do need the help to get out the door. Find something that works for you. When things start getting hard, pump up the music, put on your headphones and get after it.

This is my go-to song that gets me out of the door when I’m feeling lazy.

4. Climb A Mountain

Sometimes the real reason for quitting is a complete lack of belief that you can actually do the impossible. Show yourself you can actually do it. Go do something ridiculously hard and don’t tell anyone. Climb a mountain and tell no one. Remind yourself what you’re capable of. Then keep going.

5. Find A Door And Go Through It

This video from David Goggins is one of the most inspirational things I’ve ever seen. If you’ve never seen it, go watch it now (I’ll be here when you’re done)

David’s an ultra-marathoner and in the video he describes that throughout certain parts of the race you feel like giving up when you hit a wall. But the wall isn’t the problem – the problem is giving up. When you hit a wall, it’s not the end of the road, you have to keep going. Go parallel right, and parallel left until you find a door in the wall. Once you find that door, you can either give up or keep going. If you want to finish, you have to open that door. When you do, your mind resets and you break through the wall and you keep going.

Find the door, open it and keep going.

6. Be Honest With Yourself

Sometimes you need to lock yourself in a room, and scream at the top of your lungs.

THIS SUCKS!

Do that until you turn purple.

Got that out of your system? Good. Then get back to work.

7. Find Someone To Call You Out

Sometimes you have legitimate reasons for wanting to quit. Lots of times you’re simply making up excuses for when things get hard. Find someone who’d going to call you out when you start coming up with excuses. Someone that’s going to call you on your BS.

A lot of friends want to be encouraging and they do it in the nicest way possible, but unfortunately, nice isn’t always a good thing. Honest friends – people who tell you what you need to hear whether you like or not – are rare and while it’s nice to be coddled, sometimes you need to be called out.

If you need someone to call you out, I try to help out with that. Get on the email list for no BS call-outs directly to your inbox.

8. Wallow

Sit around. Put your head in your hands. Curl up in a ball. Cry. Feel bad for yourself. Do whatever you have to. Wallow and throw yourself a pity party. But (and this is important) give yourself a time limit for wallowing.

You can’t wallow forever. Give yourself a set time to wallow (preferably not over 24 hours) and then get back to it and do something.

9. Think About Why

Ask yourself, “Why are you doing this again?”

You should have a really good reason. Otherwise, pause, take a break and figure it out.

Then keep going.

10. Just Quit

You don’t have to finish everything. If you’re doing the wrong thing, you should be quitting. But you need to quit the right things – not everything. If you quit everything, you either need to get better at choosing what to start or learn to adapt and perserve more.

It’s also good to note that quitting an activity, doesn’t mean quitting altogether and giving up. If you quit something, do it because you need to focus on something else or do something better. Don’t simply quit because it’s the easy thing to do. Quit because you’re quitting the right thing.

11. Tree Counting

Whenever I do long distance races, there’s always a point where you want to stop. When that happens, I start counting trees. How it works is that while running, you pick out a tree 50 yards in front of you. You tell yourself to keep going until that tree. As soon as you hit that next tree, pick another tree out and keep going. Repeat as necessary.

12. Take Cold Showers

If you want to give up because you’re afraid to take the next step, take 30 days of cold shower therapy and get used to stepping into something you’re scared of and realize that it’s never as bad as your imagination makes it out to be.

13. Forget About It

You got rejected, turned down or met some other minor setback? Forget about it. Literally just forget about it. Move on to something else instead and put that out of your mind.

In my mind sometimes, I think things were really, really easy, because looking back on things I tend to forget all the hard parts. I look at whatever I did and think “well that wasn’t so hard.”

Of course it’s wasn’t now that you’re done with it!

But there were a ton of times along the way that things were difficult, but I just put them out of my head. It turns out, I have a very short term memory of all the times I’ve screwed up, failed, and been rejected. It’s not that they didn’t happen – it’s just that I didn’t let them stop me. I put them out of my mind and kept going, with whatever added wisdom I picked up from that experience.

For example: When I first started writing online, I sent a bunch of samples to a few blogs that I thought were great, only to get rejected time after time after time. I’d spend a week on an article only to get a “no thanks” back from a blog I thought was amazing. So I quit, packed up my laptop ran to my room, cried for a few months and never wrote another thing again, right?

Well, actually I just made my own site and started writing. And I still wasn’t any good. I was bad when I started (really bad), but I’ve gotten less and less bad as time goes on. As I’ve improved I realize those sites that I thought were amazing, weren’t that amazing after all. They were good, and they were right (the pieces I sent them weren’t great) but they weren’t blogging Gods and their judgment of wherever I was at the time, didn’t mean I couldn’t improve and get better. I still get rejected all the time, but I just keep going.

If you’re facing a setback, rejection, or failure, sometimes it’s easy to turn on your short term memory and continue anyways.

14. Reframe Your Story

Reframing your story is one of the most powerful things you can do.

Rethink the lens you’re looking at your life through. Instead of worrying about the struggle you’re in the midst of, remind yourself you’re a character in a story. Characters experience conflict and the conflict you’re going through is part of what’s going to make your story so great in the end.

Your current circumstances are not final outcomes. 

Your circumstances define the conflict, but not the final result. The harder the struggle, the greater the story. The more triumphant it is in the end when you overcome the conflict you find yourself immersed in.

When other people give up, you keep going and remember that there’s more to the story than what you’re experiencing right now.

15. Keep Your Head Up.

The crap you’re going to seems so immense because you’re focused directly on it – looking directly into and analyzing every piece of crap that flies your way. When you raise your head up, you look beyond the mess you’re stuck in right now and see the bigger picture and sometimes that’s all you need. Keeping your head up allows you to see the simple solution to the problem that you used to think was ridiculously complex.

16. Realize You Get To Do This

You get the opportunity to do this.  To be able to change your life, try something impossible and actually do it. There are people all over the world that don’t get the opportunities you do.

It’s sounds ridiculous, but there are people throughout the world that would kill to deal with the pain and agony of starting their own business, being healthy enough to run a marathon or the freedom to choose what job they want to spend their life doing.

Realizing that most of the world doesn’t get the opportunities you do, lets you take advantage of the ones you have rather than complaining about how difficult they may seem.

17. Make Quitting Not An Option

Just decide that you’re not going to quit. This is so effective, and so simple, but hardly anyone does it. Just decide you’re not going to quit.

No matter what. Period. End of Story.

If you get punched in the face. Keep going. If you go bankrupt. Suck it back up and keep going. If you get laughed at, mocked or pushed down. Just get back up. Get back at it and keep going. Be relentless.

Fall down seven times. Get up eight. – Japanese Proverb

Decide that quitting is not an option and, no matter how many times you fail, it won’t be an option.