Curious about Patience: Do You Use It to Advantage? Not Always Easy, but Usually Successful

“He that can have patience can have what he will.” - Benjamin Franklin, American politician

“For anything worth having one must pay the price; and the price is always work, patience, love, self-sacrifice - no paper currency, no promises to pay, but the gold of real service.” - John Burroughs, American author

Ah yes! All the self-improvement materials – the books, the CDs, the tapes, the e-newsletters and the presentations – recommend patience. This is despite the fact that Internet gurus promise success-speed (quick fix) if one purchases and uses their pricey products.

So many great ideas abound and so many technology changes take place daily, it is difficult to stay patient. To not be blown away and get involved with the latest and greatest discovery takes all my patience. I do believe that if I combine my time and efforts with enough – but not too much – patience, I will succeed.

In checking out with the experts, I found that the majority prescribe patience positively. Here are a few of the general quotations:

• “Patience is the best remedy for every trouble.” - Titus Maccius Plautus, Roman poet
• “Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.” - Harriet Tubman, American activist
• “If patience is worth anything, it must endure to the end of time. And a living faith will last in the midst of the blackest storm.” - Mohandas Gandhi, Indian leader
• “The two most powerful warriors are patience and time.” - Leo Tolstoy, Russian novelist
• “Patience, persistence and perspiration make an unbeatable combination for success.” - Napoleon Hill, American writer
• “How poor are they that have not patience! What wound did ever heal but by degrees?” - William Shakespeare, English dramatist

And, then there are those with a bit of a twist with some humor added, too:

• “A healthy male adult bore consumes each year one and a half times his own weight in other people's patience.” - John Updike, American novelist
• “It is impossible to practice parliamentary politics without having patience, decency, politeness and courtesy.” - Khaleda Zia, Bangladeshi statesman
• “Patience is the ability to idle your motor when you feel like stripping your gears.” - Barbara Johnson, American critic
• “My three Ps: passion, patience, perseverance. You have to do this if you've got to be a filmmaker.” - Robert Wise, American producer
• “Patience has its limits, take it too far and it's cowardice.” - Holbrook Jackson, English writer
• “It takes patience to appreciate domestic bliss; volatile spirits prefer unhappiness.” - George Santayana, American philosopher

Here are a few to post nearby for dealing with the New Year:

“Genius is eternal patience.” – Michelangelo, Italian artist

“Patience is the art of concealing your impatience.” - Guy Kawasaki, American businessman

“Patience is the most necessary quality for business, many a man would rather you heard his story than grant his request.” - Lord Chesterfield, British statesman

So, how patient are you? Does patience help or hinder you? What is the happy medium? I love getting your comments.