Theimportantthinginlifeistohaveagreatgoalandthedeterminationtoattainit.Livingwithoutagoalislikesailingwithoutacompass.Lackofpurposeisthecauseofmostofourfailures.Whenagreataimhasbeendecidedon,determinationandpersistencearemostimportant.AstoryaboutMaoZedong'swillpowernottosmokeisagoodexampleofthiskindofwillpowerappliedfortheshortterm,anexampletheyoungpersonmightapplytohisorherdeterminationtoworkforthelongterm.Maowasaddictedtocigarettes.AttheChongqingNegotiations,hewasobservedtohaveanunusualexpressiononhisface.Whenthetalkswereover,JiangJieshisaid,"Helikescigarettesasmuchashedoeshislife,butwhenhelearnedthatIdon'tsmoke,inthecourseofourtalks,heneversmokedevenasinglecigarette."WecanneverdespiseMaoZedong'sdeterminationandwill!Youcanseethatnothingisimpossibleforawillingheart.Persistenceisalsothekeyfactor,likedetermination.AsBenjaminFranklinsaid,"Hewhoispatientcanhavewhateverhewants."Thispersistenceisnecessary;successfulpeopleexpectperiodicdefeats,learnwhatwentwrongandwhy,andmakenecessaryadjustments,andtryagain.Ifyouarepersistent,youwillalmostinevitablysucceed.WhenLudwigvanBeethoven-"theMichelangeloofMusic",reachedhispeak,hewastotallydeaf.Ifyoustudyhisbiography,andgetacquaintedwithhistrials,hishardships,battles,andtriumphedoverfate.Successseldomcomeseasilyonthefirsttry.Whatseparatesthesuccessfulfromtheunsuccessfulispersistence.Manyorganizationalanalystsandcareerconsultantsconsiderpersistencetobeultimatekeytosuccessatboththeorganizationalandpersonallevel.Successfulpeoplealsofailoccasionally,buttheydonotlettheirfailuresdefeattheirspirit.Learningfromdefeats,theyrevisestrategyasneededandtryagain,andagain,andagain,untiltheysucceed.Ineveryone'sheart,thereisthatkindofpuregreenandthepuredesireforsuccess.Greensignifiesvitality,hopeandsuccess.Iturgesyouon.