I’m currently listening to an audio book titled Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. In the book, Hill tells the story of R. U. Harby's uncle. Harby’s uncle had gold fever, so he staked his claim and started digging. After a lot of hard work, Harby's uncle found ore. Following his find, he covered up his search area and returned home to raise money for the machinery he needed to bring the ore to the surface. He raised enough money for the equipment needed and Darby traveled with his uncle back to the site to dig for gold. Things were going well and they were excited. But, soon, the supply of gold stopped. The vein of ore had disappeared. They kept on digging, but found nothing.
As time went on, they quit in frustration and sold their machinery to a junk man for a few hundred dollars. After they went home in disappointment, the junk man called in a mining engineer who checked the mine and calculated that there was a vein of gold just three feet from where Darby and his uncle had stopped digging.The junk man went on to make millions from the mine. So, Darby and his uncle "stopped three feet from gold" and allowed someone else to come in and reap the millions of dollars of rewards following their hard work.
So, the lesson learned here is that you can’t stop short of the gold. In other words, press on my friend, press on. In my career, I’ve tried and failed in using new tools and in launching new strategic communications programs and initiatives. Actually, too many to count. I’ve had media interviews that I hope never see the light of day. Think interviews following Hurricane Ike while working for CenterPoint Energy. Yeah, don’t Google that. And who remembers Periscope? Probably no one. I launched a City of Pearland Periscope channel years ago that failed almost as soon as I created it.
And then there have been multimedia snafus during the City of Pearland’s Annual Mayor’s State of the City. Following one event with serious technical problems, my former colleague Debbie Schielke and I licked our wounds and vowed to improve the presentation the following year. None of these are memories I enjoy reliving, but I don’t think I’d change any of them because they made me who I am. Following each instance, I learned a lesson in perseverance. Throughout my life, I can think of several other moments where perseverance was key.
Some of you may be aware that for years, I competed in beauty pageants. I have captured a few titles during my time competing, but none meant more to me than the title of Miss Black Teen Houston. However, many people do not know that I lost Miss Black Teen Houston the first time I competed and had to settle for the Top 10 and evening gown winner. This loss came after I placed nearly last in the Miss Jack Yates Senior High School Pageant - a popularity contest that I had coveted for years in high school. Long story short, after two gut wrenching losses, I could have thrown in the towel and quit pageants all together. But, I didn’t quit. Instead, I used the pageant tape that chronicled my loss to practice hours upon hours. I played back the dusty VCR tape over and over, answering on stage questions and even going as far as drafting sample answers to dozens of questions and reciting them at the dinner table. I didn’t stop. And, in the process, I drove both my mom and my stepdad crazy. But a year of practice, resulted in my first pageant win!
I can also recall my attempts to join Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. (AKA) - arguably, the most prestigious Historically Black Sorority in the country. I’m not sure I’ve ever shared this publicly but I was not selected the first time I applied to be a member. As it turned out, I had dropped a class the semester before and the amount of hours I completed (less than 12 hours) made me ineligible to join. So, I didn’t make the cut. I was disheartened and I felt my dream of becoming an AKA might be over. But, a pep talk from a member that joined prior to me led me to apply again. The next time I applied, I made it. I joined the sorority with a group of women who I still call my sisters today. We have traveled together, cried together and laughed together since we joined the sorority in 2004. I have been in their weddings. I’m Godmother to one of their kids and I’ve been there for them - just as they have been there for me. So, I know that it all happened just as it should have.
I write this today, because I feel like someone needs to read this! Press on friend. Press on. Just keep going because you are three feet from gold. It will happen for you. Take each moment as a learning lesson and let it catapult you to the win!
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