This is a short motivational talk by Jack Canfield arguing that persistence is the primary determinant of success. He opens with a Calvin Coolidge quotation, then gives several case studies (Walt Disney; Stephen King — Carrie rejected 30 times; J.K. Rowling — rejected by 12 major UK houses, £1,500 advance, initial print run 1,000 with 500 to libraries, later sold >500 million copies; Jack Canfield & Mark Victor Hansen — Chicken Soup rejected 144 times, accepted by the 145th publisher, series sold >500 million copies in 47 languages) to show that perseverance beats talent or education. He closes by challenging viewers to set a goal and includes CTAs to comment, like, subscribe, and visit jackcanfield.com.
Questions this video answers
30 publishers.
144 rejections; accepted by the 145th publisher.
Advance: £1,500; initial print run: 1,000 copies (500 sent to libraries).
More than 500 million copies worldwide.
Series sold more than 500 million copies in 47 languages.
Chapters
Hi there. I'm Jack Canfield. And today I'd like to talk to you about the importance of persistence and how your ability to persevere in the face of any obstacle is the key to your success in life. And one of my favorite quotes comes from Calvin Coolidge, who once said, nothing in this 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. Now, this quote is so powerful because it's true. It doesn't matter how much money you were born into or how smart or talented you are. It doesn't even matter how ambitious you are if you don't have the necessary willpower and drive to keep moving you forward to your goals. No matter what roadblocks appear on your path or how many failures you experience, you will never unlock your true capacity for success. You know, I've known plenty of ambitious, wealthy, intelligent and talented people who've never fulfilled their goals or manifested their true potential. And I've also known plenty of kids who were born into poor families and never got good marks in school, some of whom never even graduated from high school, who have later gone on to create incredibly successful lives for themselves, full of wealth and joy, purpose and abundance. Now, what did they have that other people didn't? It was the ability to never give up, to persist and persevere in the face of whatever challenge they might have encountered. Take Walt Disney, for example. He was once considered a failure and was fired from his job at the Kansas City Star newspaper because he lacked what was quote unquote, lacked imagination and had no good ideas, unquote. Can you imagine? And the first animation studio he owned went bankrupt. But he refused to let those setbacks stop him, and he went on to found the most powerful entertainment company in history. Or consider Stephen King. When he was in university, one of his professors told him he wasn't a very good writer. Then his first book, Carrie, was rejected by 30 publishers, which disheartened him so much that he threw the book manuscript in the trash. Thankfully for all of us, his wife fished the manuscript out of the garbage and convinced him to keep sending it out. Now, eventually, Cary was printed by another publisher, sold more than 4 million copies, and was made into a blockbuster film, launching his career as one of the most successful writers of all time. Or how about J.K. rowling, author of the beloved Harry Potter books? She was a Single mother on welfare when she wrote the first book in the series. And when she tried to find a publisher, it was rejected by all 12 major publishing houses in the UK. But even though she was reduced to living on food stamps, she refused to give up and finally found a small company that was willing to publish it. And they paid her a very small advance of only £1,500. They only printed 1,000 copies, 500 of which were sent to libraries. But a couple of years later, that book of hers started winning major book awards and more people found out about it. And today her Harry Potter books have sold more than 500 million copies around the world. And Rowling is a billionaire and, and one of the most successful authors in the world. And of course, there's the story of Mark Victor Hanson and myself and a little book called Chicken Soup for the Soul. When we tried to find a publisher for the first book of ours, we were rejected 144 times. Publisher said, no one is going to publish that book. No one's interested in short stories. But we kept at it. We got the book back from our agent and took it to the National Booksellers Convention, where we went from booth to booth to booth to booth to booth to booth for three days, saying, will you publish our book? You publish our book, Will you publish our book? And finally, the 145th publisher we asked said, okay, well, don't for publisher, at least we'll read it. They loved it so much that they did publish it. And it went on to become book series that has also sold more than 500 million copies in 47 languages around the world. Now, that's the power of persistence. And I want you to unlock it in your life. So I challenge you to set a goal for yourself. It doesn't have to be that big, but it does have to move you closer to the accomplishment of your major goal that you have for yourself. And then once you've set your goal, make the commitment to achieve it no matter what. Because the more you practice the art of persistence, the art of no matter what, the more capable you will become of achieving any goal you set for yourself. Now, after hearing all this, I'd like to hear your thoughts after watching this video. What is that goal that you're going to set for yourself? So please leave a comment below with your answer or your story, and I'd love to read what you have to say. Here's to your relentless success. Now, if you found this video helpful, please make sure you like it. Share it with a friend who may need it and subscribe to my channel for more videos like this one, and for some additional resources on the importance of persistence, be sure to visit my website@jackcampfield.com thanks again for watching.
