The following is Lindsay Redhead’s Quote du Jour. As you comment, please include a personal example to help make your point.
Quote
“Nothing in the world can take the place of Persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. (The slogan 'Press On' has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race).”-Calvin Coolidge
Terms
Proverb= short popular saying, usually of unknown and ancient origin that expresses effectively some commonplace truth or useful thought
Derelict=a person abandoned by society, especially a person without a permanent home and means of support; vagrant; bum
Omnipotent= almighty or infinite in power; having very great unlimited authority or power
Calvin Coolidge (1872-1933)
Born in Plymouth Notch, Vermont, July 4, 1872
United States Vice-President in 1920
30th President of the United States 1923-1929
Attended Amherst college and became a lawyer through apprenticeship
1918 became Governor of Massachusetts
Meaning to Me
Every time I read this quote I am impacted and reminded that hard work and perseverance are how things are accomplished. Not being complacent and expectant of success is more important than natural talent and skill.
It was a great discussion of persistence in this morning's class. I was impressed in particular by two comments:
ReplyDelete1) Persistence is not necessarily good unless it's coupled with other qualities such as kindness, the quest for knowledge, the desire to make life better for others. People can have terrible goals and be persistent. Hitler was Andrew's example of this kind of person.
2) Another quality we need to go along with persistence is enough open-mindedness to see that we might be on the wrong track and flexible enough to switch our approach and keep being persistent. Otherwise we keep doing the same thing and getting the same wrong answer.
I agree with this quote without persistence and going after what you want nothing will happen. If you get knocked down you need the persistence and determination to get back up and do it again.
ReplyDeleteI agree with this quote because it reminds us of how you don't have to be the smartest or most creative person in the world to be successful, you just have to be persistent and have tenacity. There are plenty of people who are extremely smart but choose not to put out the effort to be successful. The same is true for those who are not as smart but do mush better because the work harder and are persistent. Personally I know i'm not naturally one of the very smart people but i work hard and I read a lot so by doing this I am able to make good grades.
ReplyDeleteIf one is persistent in all that they do, and therefore puts effort into it, they’ll reap the benefits. When I saw this, it was almost too much to take in or comprehend—and thus I broke it down. Talent is given when it is shown and by the fact that they have talent, this doesn’t make them unsuccessful. In fact, it will help them become successful—so I think this is a flawed concept. If you’re smart (a genius), all that information didn’t just appear in your mind. Instead, you worked for it, so in a sense, you’re rewarded with the idea of being a genius for doing so well. As far as education goes with persistence, the benefits are only given to those who try to take advantage of them. So, this must be true. 2/3 isn’t bad in my mind. Persistence is indeed important to have, but you must include it with good goals.
ReplyDeleteI think this quote is pretty true. An example of this would be someone born with a natural talent versus someone who has motivation to become great at something that doesn't come natural to them. The difference between the two, I think is the passion and perseverance each have. Granted not all naturally talented people don't try and persevere to become better, the first example is not always true. I know tons of naturally talented athletes that work just as hard as everyone else. But in the end, it does not matter how talented or smart you are but rather your work ethic.
ReplyDeleteI think that this quote reminds me of mine. The most important thing in life is persistence and to never give up. Everyone has their mistakes and failures and moving on from the failures is the most important thing. If you are talented but lazy then the talent is useless in my opinion. It matters how much and how far you are willing to take that talent.
ReplyDeleteThis quote really hits home with me; if you have a gift, you should use it, or else that gift is pretty much useless. I think when you're gifted with something, be it talent, genius, or some other gift, it's almost like your responsibility or obligation to use that gift to help yourself and others. When you actually use whatever gift you're given and you keep on trying to improve something with it, I think if you persevere enough then you will eventually accomplish something great. You may not get to the end result that you thought you would reach, but you will learn something along the way that was worthwhile.
ReplyDelete