day 878: No Quitting

"...He did not give up because of the cross."

After the fact we think how easy it looked for the start-ups that get acquired at crazy valuations.  But, for every Instagram or Draw Something team, there are hundreds who never get past the first round of money and then fade off into the sunset.  Even for the homeruns the story is usually one of near death and then they unlocked what made them successful.  Instagram was a failed Brbn before narrowing the offering to photos.  The team from Draw Something was at the end of their money and patience from their investors and then they created the Draw Something game that snatched them from the jaws of death.  These hits we see do not come easily and they don't come without stories of wanting to quit many times over.  But, perseverance and persistence is a quality of great entrepreneurs that can't go unnoticed.  Sometimes it is because they don't (to quote Mayo from Officer and a Gentleman) "have anywhere else to go", but in most cases it is because they so passionately believe that the pursuit is unquestionable in how far they go.  They go all the way.  We could use more of this entrepreneurial persistence in all of our businesses.  By creating a compelling vision that everyone can believe in and rally behind we can make that spirit come alive, even in a big company or organization.

What if we knew that the path we were walking, which was filled with rocks, hardships, threats and an ending of excruciating pain and death; would we walk it?  I think not.  We just aren't built that way. But one person was.  When I think of what it took for Jesus to not give up, with what he knew was coming, I am so humbled and thankful.  We may be looking at situations all around us where the easy way out is to quit and wash our hands of it, but we know down deep inside that quitting is not the example that Christ gave us and that would be the wrong path to choose.  When we are up against it, let's look beyond the problem, the obstacles, and the people who are making it hard on us, and look for the cross.  And when we can see the cross, let us be reminded that Jesus wasn't a quitter and that He never gave up and he persevered for each of us!  That is the example that we are to follow.

Reference:  Hebrews 12:2