Faith and determination

Sometimes you catch yourself wondering if things are really going to work out.

There are so many difficulties, obstacles... that doubts permeate our minds.

Things do not happen in a linear fashion, even if we are under the impression that success is a chain of predictable and controllable events.

History shows exactly the opposite. Everything that we admire and want to achieve is the result of much struggle, internal struggle.

We tend to put too much focus on the problems and thereby lose strength to battle against the tendency to give up and let go.

When we encounter obstacles, lack of positive results, new and unexpected difficulties, it is natural that we question whether this is really the path and if it is worth it.

That is the real battle. Dealing with the doubts. They can and will do anything to undermine your willpower.

I remember several occasions when I thought my world was falling apart, only to understand after a few years that they were just passages. Loss of my father, breakdowns, moving to another country (twice) were very striking events that only gave me the certainty that things must go on and that regardless of what happens we have to choose to follow a path in life and reach our goals.

And in choosing a path to get somewhere you will come across the no's of life.

But the no's of life are only pre-sins. In reality, a no is only a not-yet.

That kind of belief, that kind of faith I call determination.

The other day I wrote about my admiration for IBM and its iconic building on 23 de Maio, an important avenue of heavy traffic here in São Paulo.

And to think what its founder Thomas Watson went through. He got drunk in a roadside pub after discovering that his samples along with his cart and horse had been stolen. He was filled with alcohol by the misfortune that had befallen his life.

Some years later he was cheated by a travelling salesman and lost his savings.

He worked hard, made new savings, opened a butcher's shop, but it broke down in a few months leaving him with no money, no job, no income.

Before long, Thomas J. Watson set IBM on its feet.

Work, determination, the search for dreams and never giving up when faced with difficulties. That is what makes the universe conspire in your favour.

Determination is something we can learn to have. Like everything, it requires training.

It doesn't matter much what your background, your origin and your temperament. You can develop your determination. It is something you have to actively want to achieve. Be determined to be determined.

You need to want to be determined. Then you will have the motivation to pursue determination. It doesn't matter how slowly you progress, as long as you don't stop. Don't take a second away from your focus on determination, on insistence, on breaking through internal barriers.

Remember, the real struggle is with yourself.

It's the determination that keeps you moving, doing whatever it takes until you cross the finish line. It's not the talent. It's the determination.

That is the key piece to the success you want to achieve.

Read it several times. Keep it and reread it. And then we'll have a beer celebrating your achievements.

Turn your doubts into faith and your fears into determination. In the moments where you are about to succumb remember that it is only a passage. That's the way it works.

Your greatest victories will be the result of great sacrifices. You already know this. Just look at your achievements and the price you have paid.

"There is nothing that cannot be achieved with determination, kindness and, above all, love. " Cicero

Stavros Frangoulidis
Stavros Frangoulidis
CEO of PaP Solutions ⚡ Let's connect on Linkedin too

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