Og Mandino - The Scroll Marked III

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I will persist until I succeed.

In the Orient, young bulls are tested

for the fight arena

in a certain manner.

Each is brought to the ring

and allowed to attack a picador

who pricks them with a lance.

The bravery of each bull

is then rated with care

according to the number of times

he demonstrates his willingness
to charge

in spite of the sting
of the blade.

Henceforth will I recognize

that each day

I am tested by life

in like manner.

If I persist,

if I continue to try,

if I continue to charge forward,

I will succeed.

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.

I will persist until I succeed.

The prizes of life are at the end of each journey,

not near the beginning;

and it is not given to me to know

how many steps are necessary

in order to reach my goal.

Failure I may still encounter
at the thousandth step,

yet success hides behind
the next bend in the road.

Never will I know
how close it lies

unless I turn the corner.

Always will I take another step.

If that is of no avail,

 I will take another, and yet another.

In truth, one step at a time
is not too difficult.

I will persist until I succeed.

Henceforth, I will consider each day's effort

as but one blow of my blade

against a mighty oak.

The first blow may cause not a tremor in the wood,

nor the second, nor the third.

Each blow, of itself, may be trifling,

and seem of no consequence.

Yet from childish swipes
the oak will eventually tumble.

So it will be with my efforts of today.

I will be liken to the rain drop

which washes away the mountain;

the ant who devours a tiger;

the star which brightens the earth;

the slave who builds a pyramid.

I will build my castle
one brick at a time

for I know that small attempts,
repeated,

will complete any undertaking.

I will persist until I succeed.

I will never consider defeat,
and I will remove from my vocabulary
such words and phrases as quit,

cannot, unable, impossible,
out of the question,

improbable, failure, unworkable,

hopeless, and retreat;

for they are the words of fools.

I will avoid despair,
but if this disease
of the mind

should infect me

then I will work on
in despair.

I will toil
and I will endure.

I will ignore the obstacles
at my feet

and keep mine eyes on the goals
above my head,

for I know
that where dry desert ends,

green grass grows.

I will persist until I succeed.

I will remember
the ancient law of averages

and I will bend it
to my good.

I will persist with knowledge

that each failure
will increase my chance

for success
at the next attempt.

Each nay I hear

will bring me closer

to the sound of yea.

Each frown I meet

only prepares me

for the smile to come.

Each misfortune I encounter

will carry in it

the seed of tomorrow's

good fortune.

I must have the night
to appreciate the day.

I must fail often
to succeed only once.

I will persist until I succeed.

I will try, and try, and try again.

Each obstacle I will consider

as a mere detour to my goal

and a challenge
to my profession.

I will persist and develop my skills

as the mariner develops his,

by learning to ride out the wrath

of each storm.

I will persist until I succeed.

Henceforth, I will learn and apply another secret

of those who excel in life.

When my thoughts beckon

my tired body homeward

I will resist the temptation to depart.

I will try again.

I will make one more attempt

to close with victory, and if that fails

I will make another.

Never will I allow any day
to end with a failure.

Thus will I plant the seed
of tomorrow's success

and gain an insurmountable advantage

over those who cease their labor

at a prescribed time.

When others cease their struggle,
then mine will begin,

and my harvest will be full.

I will persist until I succeed.

Nor will I allow yesterday's success

to lull me into today's complacency,

for this is the great foundation of failure.

I will forget the happenings
of the day that is gone,

whether they were good or bad,

and greet the new sun with confidence

that this will be the best day
of my life.

So long as there is breath in me,
that long will I persist.

For now I know
one of the greatest principles
of success;

if I persist long enough
I will win.

I will persist.

I will win.

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