Life is short - live well

I was reading The Secrets of Closing Sales yesterday and was struck by this line:

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.

I could nitpick some of the words of the quote - but the spirit - that consistency and dedication will win in the long run - is something that resounds with my experience.

Then, later, Jason Huggins pointed me to this blog post by the creator of wordpad. In it, Matt points to this blog post by Tim Ferris that is a gentle introduction to the writing of Seneca.

It's one of the most inspirational things I have read this year.

Go ahead, invest thirty minutes in Senaca. Breathe it in. I believe you'll find it time well spent.

What am I saying when you cross the initial quote with Seneca's commentary? Well, yes, persistence matters. Yes, if you try again and again, you may succeed where others will fail. Just be careful that you don't climb the ladder of success, only to find that it was leaning on the
wrong wall.