Patience, Perseverance, and Incomparable Stubbornness

Patience and perseverance are two traits of the Ninja that I was taught in my martial arts training. Notice I said that I was taught, not necessarily that I learned it. Patience may be a virtue, but it was something I was never very good at. However, I killed it when it came to perseverance. I attribute it to my incomparable stubbornness, which I am incredibly proud of, especially since it usually seems to pay off. Usually.

I am thrilled to say that it has certainly payed off when it applies to my book, which was published exactly 4 years ago this month. As a newly published author, I was naive enough to think that everyone would want my book and it would fly off the shelves. I scoffed at the marketing experts who claimed that the “real” work in writing a book came after it was published.

I thought, “How could that possibly be? I spent 2 1/2 very stressful and grueling years writing the darn thing. Nothing can be more work than that?” As I mentioned already, I was naive. And I was wrong. It was incredibly hard work, and devastatingly discouraging. But I never gave up.

After spending the past 4 years promoting my award-winning book, attending numerous conferences, multiple book fairs, delivering dozens of speeches, teaching free classes, and hundreds of post on social media, my efforts finally paid off and magic happened. Because I never gave up. I persevered.

In February of 2020 my book hit the Kindle Amazon Best Seller list in 8 categories, and remains on the Best Seller list to this day. I put a press release out a few weeks ago and was  picked up by over 250 multiple media outlets, but I am not boasting.

Instead, I am incredibly humbled, honored, and grateful for the accolades, but even more grateful for my patience, perseverance, and incomparable stubbornness. No matter what it is that you are working on or trying to accomplish, it’s important to remember the Ninja trait of patience and perseverance, because it really does pay off. Don’t give up. Never give up! And if you ever need a pep talk, give me a call or shoot me an email. I got your back. I’ll share some more Ninja secrets with you besides patience and perseverance. I might even give you a healthy dose of my incomparable stubbornness. After all, I have more than enough to share!