Get to It, Stick to It

While listening to a book on tape about setting goals I heard a story about one of the greatest self-help books ever written. It was written at the end of the 19th century, in long-hand. The story goes that the writer spent a year writing it, then went out for a bite to eat. When he returned, the stable he lived above was engulfed in flames.

Undeterred, the author, Orison Swett Marden, sat down and took another year to write it again. Then he tried to sell his book to a publisher. Since the nation was in the midst of a depression, it was quite a while before he found a publisher willing to print his book. Once printed, however, his book became a 19th century best seller, and influenced some of the greatest men of the 20th century including Henry Ford and J.P. Morgan.

The main point of his book? That great success does not depend on brains, connections, or money. That all of the great successful people in history have two traits in common: "get-to-it-iveness" and "stick-to-it-iveness." That what is most needed for success is to not just dream, but get started, and once started, to not quit.

Now if I could only apply that to my diet!

=)