Perseverance

Have a look at this list, and try to guess the subject before the end:

1832 Failed in Business – Bankruptcy

1832 Defeated for Legislature

1834 Failed in Business – Bankruptcy

1835 Fiancé Died

1836 Nervous Breakdown

1838 Defeated in Election

1843 Defeated for U.S. Congress

1848 Defeated for U.S. Congress

1855 Defeated for U.S. Senate

1856 Defeated for Vice President

1858 Defeated for U.S. Senate

Had you stopped there, you would have missed the final point:

1860 Elected President of the United States of America

The subject , of course, was Abraham Lincoln. What a great message: You can’t fail unless you quit. If Lincoln had quit in 1858, he would have been dismissed as a footnote in American history rather than be remembered as the honoured statesman he became. He kept trying, he didnt quit and the rest, as they say, is history.