Singing and Dancing in the Rain

Editor’s note: This is a guest post by
Will Edwards of White Dove Books

There was once a tribe that invented a rain dance that worked – what they did was this: they danced and danced and danced … until it rained. And it actually worked – every time!

This principle is sometimes hailed as a magic recipe for success in anything you attempt. I recall Tony Robbins was speaking on this very point on one occasion. He gave the example of Colonel Sanders who apparently traipsed his chicken recipe around over one thousand stores before someone eventually thought it might be a good idea.

I don’t know about you, but I would probably have given-up after the first ten or so rejections, but then I am not a big fan of the finger-lickin stuff.

As you may know, NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) tells us we can achieve success by doing things slightly differently. Its approach can be best summarized as follows:

1. Take some action to move you toward your goal.
2. Watch out for feedback – ‘there is no failure, only feedback’.
3. Adjust your approach in some way until you get the results you desire.
4. Then apply your efforts to what you know is working.

That is not the same thing as just blindly soldiering-on with a project until something favorable happens. NLP does indeed advocate persistence – but not without also applying intelligence. It seems we have a slight incompatibility issue here! Clearly, Colonel Sanders proved that sometimes you do just need to keep going and don’t give up.

However – who knows – perhaps he could have succeeded quicker with another approach. There is no question that persistence and determination are both necessary qualities we must acquire, especially if we are to achieve our very big goals. But stubbornness is just not the same thing!

The quality of being flexible in our approach whilst, at the same, time combining persistence and determination is truly the magic recipe. It is what Deepak Chopra calls ‘fixity of purpose’ coupled with ‘detachment’ – and it can truly bring you anything you want in life. Or, as the trusty old Texan dude Zig Ziglar once put it: you don’t give up the goal, but you might change the route you take to get there.

So my message to you is this: if you are pursuing some large goal – and I truly hope you are, then don’t be stubborn about it – stubbornness being the application of persistence without intelligence. Instead, be intelligent in your approach; continually adjusting it until you find out exactly what actions you need to take. Then apply those qualities of determination and persistence to produce the results!

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