What does "perseverance" mean to you?
What or who comes to mind when you think about that word?
It seems like the new motto in our country today is "If at first you don't succeed, try something else. You deserve to be happy".
But there are things in life that are worth working and striving for.
I've had a long lesson on perseverance over the past two years in changing careers. After taking inventory of my skills and gifts in October 2011, I decided to make a career of teaching adults. Two avenues lay ahead--teaching at the college level or training in a corporate environment. Since I have my bachelors degree but no masters or doctorate, the college teaching route would take time and money. I didn't have enough of either so that route was out.
So I focused on corporate training. I knew that there must be a professional organization that corporate trainers belonged to. I found that group--ASTD (American Society for Training and Development). Birmingham has a chapter of ASTD. I attended my first meeting in November 2011.
It was great! I met people who did what I wanted to do. They were neat folks who did cool stuff. I asked lots of questions of them at the monthly meetings.
Things stalled out for a while. I'd ask if they knew about open positions; nothing was available for someone like me with no true training background. But I persevered. I continued going to the meetings each month. Over the summer of 2012, I decided to press harder.
I scheduled phone and in-person interviews with people I met through ASTD for them to critique my resume and give me ideas on how to market myself. I never asked them for a job, just another contact that I could interview. I did this for about four months. I talked to 18 different people. But still no job.
My perfect attendance record at ASTD meetings showed I was committed to the organization. So in September 2012, I was asked to be the Vice President for Marketing and Communication for the chapter in 2013. I accepted. A slot opened up for a national ASTD training meeting in Washington, D.C., and I was asked to go. I jumped on it.
That conference let me network with even more people and tell my story. I got encouragement and advice from trainers all over the country. They gave me tips on what industries and positions would fit my skill set.
With renewed hope, I continued my job search when I got home. Jobs in the industry were still not plentiful.
Fast forward to February 2013. I saw a position at Regions Bank that I thought would fit my skills perfectly. I applied for the job. I talked to people I knew who worked there asking them to recommend me. Two were ASTD members.
I was one of two finalists but I didn't get the job.
That hurt.
But the hiring manager for that position told me that a different manager was looking for a Mortgage Trainer. Though I had only six months of mortgage experience, I did have seven years of financial services experience in banking and brokerage.
From first talking about the position to being hired took about six weeks. But I am now having the time of my life. One quote keeps coming to mind about my ordeal: "What we attain too easily, we esteem too lightly".
Many times I could have given up and looked for something else in sales. I refused to settle. I took a part-time job building bikes at Toys R Us when my Gumdrop Books' job was on break for Christmas. But I refused to settle.
God blessed our family with this new job. I thank Him every day for it.
Our lesson this Sunday at 9:50 a.m. is on perseverance. We'll look at what the Bible says about persisting through tough times.
Here is the outline for this week's lesson on perseverance:
1. God is glorified in the perseverance of His people
through times of trial (1 Peter 1:3-9).
2. God’s people persevere in light of the promised new
heavens and new earth (2 Peter 3:8-13).
3. God’s people demonstrate their perseverance by their
actions (1 John 2:15-19).
If you are going through a rough time right now, this is a lesson you want to be here for.
Finish Friday strong. Enjoy Saturday with your family. See you Sunday!
Loyally yours,
Darren Bayne
Resolve says, "I will." The man says, "I will climb this mountain. They told me it is too high, too far, too steep, too rocky and too difficult. But it's my mountain. I will climb it. You will soon see me waving from the top or dead on the side from trying."
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