“‘Never give up’, are the three most important words in the language” was once said by Australian cricketer Shane Warne who passed away in March this year, aged 52.
He was quoted in Alastair Campbell’s 2015 book ‘Winners And How They Succeed‘ in which he concludes:
Winners use emotion, but also know when to control it. Winners think big and bold. They are ambitious. Winners have a plan where possible they stick to it. Winners pay attention to detail, know it is in the implementation and constant iteration of planning that winning objectives can best be met. Winners never give up. They embrace pressure and they embrace setbacks. Winners turn disappointment into progress. They learn from mistakes. Winners always want to improve and the desire to improve is what leads to innovation. Winners feel special. That is not universal, but I was struck by how many of the people I met acknowledged feeling from a young age that they would be more successful than others. Winners focus on the next win, not the last one. Winners have the will to win, and know that it is not the same as wanting to win. Winners know the mental and the physical are always connected. Winners care about their reputation and know that building it never stops.
Financial journalist and broadcaster Martin Lewis listed four things he believes that you need to be successful on the BBC’s ‘Political Thinking with Nick Robinson’ podcast broadcast in June 2022:
- Talent
- Hard work
- Focus (find the thing that you’re really good at)
- Luck
Lewis talks about having to do payback having had luck to get to where he is now:
You have to recognise my success is not because I’m innately brilliant… it’s cos, you know, there were lots of people who could have been successful. I was the one. I was the one who got that luck and that brings a responsibility. And so I feel that burden of responsibility.
Meanwhile, Mary Christine, one of the best appellate lawyers in the US, shared this lesson from her career on the High Performance Circle website (April 2021):
Finally, and this is true in life generally but, never give up. In several of my cases. I’ve lost at one stage of an appeal but then years later won at a higher level appellate court or before a larger panel of the same court. And that of course requires fortitude both by the client and myself to keep going when it doesn’t look very favourable or when we’ve lost already. But sometimes you can lose the battle and win the war…Don’t give up when it looks hopeless – you may yet say something in a new way that persuades someone of your view. Sometimes all you need to do is get to the next step, to live to fight another day. Give up too soon you will never know what is possible – so never, ever give up.
We each run our own race. We don’t need to be ‘successful’ or at the top of a profession to never give up on the causes that matter to us.
On 24 February, Russia invaded Ukraine. Since then, up to the end of November, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights recorded 17,023 civilian casualties in Ukraine: 6,655 killed and 10,368 injured. The actual figures are likely to be much higher.
There’s no obvious sign of when the war might end. Millions of Ukrainians continue to show defiance, resilience and indomitable spirit.
They will never give up on the country’s sovereignty and independence. Millions of people who will never know fame, wealth or celebrity.
Collectively digging in for their country. Enduring hardship and making sacrifices to push back on a bully.
ніколи не здавайся is Ukrainian for ‘Never give up’ (pronounced ‘nikoly ne zdavaysya’).
500 Word World 