Nothing in the world can take the place of Persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan ‘Press On’ has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race. (Coolidge)
My daughter Merrilee has Down Syndrome. Her IQ is 43. She has a lot of advantages over job seekers with down syndrome. Job seekers with down syndrome accept what happens to them fatalistically. My daughter with Down Syndrome got an extra half chromosome that makes it impossible for her to be fatalistic. I’ll show you what I mean.
Merrilee loves cartoon videos. We limit the time she spends watching them. We lock them in the boys room so she can’t get them. Yet she shows up with a cartoon video in her hand while I am at the computer or reading and hands it to me almost every day.
How does she get the video? She knows eventually one of her brothers will leave the door unlocked or the key down where she can get it. She checks the door several times a day. Not obsessively, just whenever she goes by their room.
She can’t talk clearly, but I know when she hands me a video that she wants me to play it. She gives it to me when I am busy so I won’t go upstairs to lock the room. I hand it back and say, put it on the TV stand. She does. 10 or 20 minutes later she brings another. This goes on until I play a video for her or put the videos away and lock the boys door.
If I tell her, “No,” she’ll be back. If I lock the boy’s door, she’ll be back. She is gentle and loving. She is quietly persistent. She is not unreasonable. I want to help her. She does what I ask when I tell her to put the video on the TV stand.
A job seeker with down syndrome sadly lacks Merrilee’s gentle persistence.
Be persistent. Don’t give up on the job or promotion you want. Figure out how to gently and kindly get your qualifications before the decision maker. Be reasonable, persistent, helpful and kind. Take your resume to HR every time they ask. Ask what you can do to qualify for and get the job. Then do what they say. After a month or two, try again.
If you make yourself qualified and have a great attitude, eventually someone will leave the door unlocked. Someone will quit or the department will expand. If you are kindly persistent and not irritatingly pestilent, you’ll have a great shot at the job.
You can’t have the blessing of the extra half chromosome that Merrilee has. However, you can develop her persistence, love and patience.
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Something To Do Today
Is there a promotion you really want? Are there companies you really want to work for? Go to your job journal and write a plan for getting what you want by being persistent in a nice way. Decide how often you can try again. Set appointments on your calendar to try again.