Pursue and Persist

By Clay Odom

Extreme Selling

I was having a conversation with my father-in-law when the book I had just finished reading, The Greatest Salesman in the World by Og Mandino, came up in our discussion. Since he is a college professor of Economics, I was eager to hear his opinions and perspective on the book. To my surprise, he began quoting a line from the book that gripped me the moment I read it. “I will persist until I succeed. I was not delivered unto this world in defeat, nor does failure course in my veins. I am not a sheep waiting to be prodded by my shepherd. I am a lion and I refuse to talk, to walk, to sleep with the sheep. I will hear not those who weep and complain, for their disease is contagious. Let them join the sheep. The slaughterhouse of failure is not my destiny…never will I know how close it lies unless I turn the corner.” Here is the distinct lesson Mandino wishes to make clear: it is up to us to take initiative and relentlessly pursue our dreams without resting. Many people have given up just short of the goal line and never found success, even though they were so close. We must pursue and persist until we succeed.

Og Mandino has a way of eloquently creating visual pictures, and his words hold such meaning and currency that I was unable to put the book down. Using ancient scrolls as the vehicle of knowledge transfer, The Greatest Salesman in the World categorizes a man’s experience throughout his career and the secrets passed down to him from his mentor. Each of the ten scrolls contains advice to help the salesman take control of life and apply himself to achieving success. Interestingly enough, none of the secrets are actually sales techniques, but rather personal introspection and truths we can all follow.

Throughout the discussion with my father-in-law, I was able to understand the economic application of the scrolls and to see how differently I will be applying them to my own life, based on industry and experiences. The application from economics is that truths exist which transcend one person’s understanding and often speak multiple truths. Egocentrism can cloud our outside-of-the-box thinking and rob us of valuable lessons that are within our reach every day. If we keep an open mind, however, we can absorb the lessons from experience and wiser individuals. When we seek to constantly learn, follow truth, and persist in our pursuit of success, we can achieve our goals and dreams.