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"An outstanding example of perseverance is Madame Curie who with her husband Pierre Curie, "in an old abandoned leaky shed without funds and without outside encouragement or help", trying to isolate uranium.
Pierre threw up his hands in despair and said, "It will never be done. Maybe in a hundred years, but never in my day" Marie's reply to her husbands statement was as follows: "If it takes a hundred years, it will be a pity, but I will not cease to work for it as long as I live." [She later shared in receiving the 1903 Nobel Prize for her research on the radioactivity of uranium. The first women ever to receive a Nobel Prize] "…cancer patients have benefited greatly from her perseverance."(President James E. Faust, April, General Conference) Talk on "Perseverance", (16:16 min.)
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Who was he?1816 His family was forced out of their home and he had to work to support them.
1831 He failed in business.
1841 He wrote, "I am now the most miserable man living." His friends worried that he would commit suicide. His law partner wrote of him, "Gloom and sadness were his predominant state."
"Let no feeling of discouragement prey upon you, and in the end you are sure to succeed" (Abraham Lincoln)
"I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go." (Abraham Lincoln)
"At age 32, Lincoln wrote, "I am now the most miserable man living," and friends worried that he would commit suicide. Lincoln's law opartner wrote of him, "Gloom and sadness were his predominant state." (Associated Press)
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Even though we may have problems, and make mistakes we should "Never, never ever give up", in trying to travel the path that leads to continual happiness and peace. This straight and narrow path we stay on when we choose to keep all the commandants of God.
Ever make mistakes? What when dieting we over eat, Do we say " That's it, I've blown it, no reason to stay on the diet now! "
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"When we fall short of the mark we feel we've blown it, that we'll never be able to measure up to everything we're told to do. So, in effect we give up. This thought pattern is a very clever and successful tool of the adversary. " (Ensign Sep. 1989 p. 24)
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Beethoven composed his greatest music after he was deaf.
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Dr. Seuss
Dr. Seuss's first children's book, 'And to Think that I Saw It on Mulberry Street," was rejected by 27 publishers.
The 28th publisher, Vanguard Press, sold 6 million copies of the book.
In 1905, the University of Bern turned down a doctoral dissertation as being irrelevant and imaginary or unreal. Who wrote the unrealistic doctoral dissertation? Albert Einstein.
He was disappointed but obviously not defeated.
When Walt Disney was a young boy in school, one of his teachers called him "the second dumbest" in her class.
“In 1923, [Walt] Disney, moved to Los Angeles to become a film producer or director. …He failed to find a job…” (World Book Encyclopedia 2006)
For lack of ideas a newspaper editor fired him. He started a small company called Laugh-O-Grams, which eventually fell bankrupt. With his suitcase, and twenty dollars, he headed to Hollywood to start anew. Who was he? Walt Disney.
Walt Disney also went bankrupt several times before he built Disneyland.
<< Henry Ford
Henry Ford failed and went broke five times before he finally succeeded.
<< Thomas Edison (1847 - 1931)
Thomas Edison's teachers said he was too stupid to learn anything. He only attended school for a few months and was insstead taught by his mother. Much of his education came from reading.
Edison developed hearing problems at an early age. The cause of his deafness was attributed to a bout of scarlet fever during childhood and recurring untreated ear infections. Edison attributed the hearing impairment to being struck on the ears by a train conductor when his chemical laboratory in a boxcar caught on fire and he was thrown off the train in Michigan, along with his apparatus and chemicals. In his youth he sold candy and newspapers on trains running from Port Huron to Detroit. At age 15, Edison rescued the son of a telegraph operator from the path of a railroad car. As a reward, the operator gave Edison telegraph lessons.
In 1867, at the age of 19, Edison was an employee at the Western Union one night in 1867 he was working with a lead-acid battery when he spilled sulfuric acid onto the floor. It ran between the floorboards and onto his boss's desk below. The next morning Edison was fired.
When inventing the light bulb, he tried over 2,000 experiments before he got it to work.
A young reporter asked him how it felt to fail so many times. He said, "I never failed once. I invented the light bulb. It just happened to be a 2,000 step process." One of Edison's sayings was "Genius is 1 percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration."
In the late 1800's Edison invested more than $1 milion in ore milling. His advanced technology was successful, but the project still ended in failure. (The above information is from Wikipedia, and other sources.)
<< Thomas Edison's Electric-Lamp Patent
Edison's name is registered on 1,093 patents.
Thomis Edison stated in at the end of his life; "I do not believe in the God of the theologians; but that there is a Supreme Intelligence I do not doubt". (The Freethinker Vol. 90, p. 147)
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<< Shelly Mann
“Shelly Mann at the age of five had polio… Her parents took her daily to a swimming pool where they hoped the water would help hold her arms up as she tried to use them again. When she could lift her arm out to the water with her own power, she cried for joy. Then her goal was to swim the width of the pool, then the length, then several lengths, she kept on trying, swimming, enduring, day after day, until she won the gold medal for the butterfly stroke, one of the most difficult of all swimming strokes.” (Marvin J. Aston, General Conference, April 1975) Talk on "The Time is Now" (16:49 min.)
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“That which we persist in doing becomes easier for us to do; not that the nature of the thing is changed, but that our power to do is increased” (Heber J. Grant)
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“Hard times in life do not last forever.” (Phil Michel)
“Just because you stub your toe once, or twice, doesn’t mean that you need to stop walking.” (Phil Michel)
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An Old Time Rail Journey
“Anyone who imagines that bliss is normal is going to waste a lot of time running around shouting that he’s been robbed. The fact is that most [golf ball] putts, don’t drop [in the holes], most beef is tough, most children grow up to be just people, most successful marriages require a high degree of mutual toleration, most jobs are more often dull than other wise. Life is like an old time rail journey…delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders, and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas, and thrilling bursts of speed. The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride." (President Gordon B. Hinckley)
“I have spoken over the years with many individuals who have told me, “I have so many problems, such real concerns. I’m overwhelmed with the challenges of life. What can I do?” I have offered to them, and I now offer to you, this specific suggestion: seek heavenly guidance one day at a time.
Life by the yard is hard; by the inch it’s a cinch. Each of us can be true for just one day—and then one more and then one more after that—until we’ve lived a lifetime guided by the Spirit, a lifetime close to the Lord, a lifetime of good deeds and righteousness. The Savior promised, "Look unto me, and ye shall live; for unto him that endureth to the end I give eternal life."
(President Thomas S. Monson - April 2012 General Conference)
(19:43 min.)----------------------
A portion of the talk “Unleashing the Dormant Spirit”
Given at BYU Devotional May 14, 1996
by
Of the first Quorum of the Seventy
“I want to share with you a vehicle, an instrument, that I developed sometime ago for myself and for my family. It helps when, from time to time, we ponder and seek identification with the following thoughts:
Embrace this day with an enthusiastic welcome, no matter how it looks. The covenant with God to which you are true enables you to become enlightened by him, and nothing is impossible for you. When you are physically sick, tired, or in despair, steer your thoughts away from yourself and direct them, in gratitude and love, toward God. In your life there have to be challenges. They will either bring you closer to God and therefore make your stronger, or they can destroy you. But you make the decision wow high road you take.
First and foremost, you are a spirit child of God. If you neglect to feed your spirit, you will reap unhappiness. Don’t permit anything to detract you from this awareness. You cannot communicate with God unless you sacrificed your self-oriented natural man and have brought yourself into the lower levels of meekness, to become acceptable for the Light of Christ.
Put all frustrations, hurt feelings, and grumblings into the perspective of your eternal hope. Light will flow into your soul. Pause to ponder the suffering Christ felt in the Garden of Gethsemane. In the awareness of the depth of gratitude for Him, you appreciate every opportunity to show your love for Him by diligently serving in His Church. God knows that you are not perfect. As you suffer about your imperfections, He will give you comfort and suggestions of where to improve. God knows better than you what you need. He always attempts to speak to you. Listen, and follow the uncomfortable suggestions that He makes to us—everything will fall into its place. Avoid any fear like your worst enemy, but magnify your fear about the consequences of sin.
When you cannot love someone, look into that person’s eyes long enough to find the hidden rudiments of the child of God in Him. Never judge anyone. When you accept this, you will be freed. In the case of your own children or subordinates, where you have the responsibility to judge, help them to become their own judges.
If someone hurts you so much that your feelings seem to choke you, forgive and you will be free again.
Avoid at all cost any pessimistic, negative, or criticizing thoughts. [About yourself or others.] If you cannot cut them out, they will do you harm. On the road toward salvation, let questions arise but never doubts. If something is wrong, God will give you clarity but never doubts. Avoid rush and haste and uncontrolled words. Divine light develops in places of peace and quiet. Be aware of that as you enter places of worship. Be not so much concerned about what you do, but do what you do with all your heart, might, and strength. In thoroughness is satisfaction.
You want to be good and to do good. That is commendable. But the greatest achievement that can be reached in our lives is to be under the complete influence of the Holy Ghost. Then he will teach us what is really good and necessary to do. The pain of sacrifice last only one moment. It is the fear of the pain of sacrifice that makes you hesitate to do it. Be grateful for every opportunity to serve. It helps you more than those you serve. When you are compel to give up something or when things that are dear to you are withdrawn from you, know that this is your lesson to be learned right now. But know also that, as you are learning this lesson, God wants to give you something better. Thus, we prepare all the days of our lives and as we grow, death loses its sting, hell loses its power. And we look forward to that day with anticipation and joy when He will come in His glory.” (Unleashing the Dormant Spirit by Elder Busche, 4/14/96 BYU talk)
Video: Advice from Elder Busche, (BYU Devotional 4/14/96) (6:43 min.)
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<< Elijah receiving Bread & Water
The Prophet Elijah life was not easy he thus prayed: "It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life..." But the Lord had other plans for Eligah. (1 Kings 19:1-8)
The Bread & Water of Hope, (Marissa Widdison, Ensign Sept. 2019) PDF 885KB
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Additional Information
Overcoming Discouragement, (The Church of Jesus Christ of Ladder-Day Saints)
Is There Still Hope for Me? (11:50 min.)
Joseph Smith and the Spirit of Optimism, (Mark D. Ogletree, Religious Educator Vol. 13 No. 2 2012)
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