Persistance

Sometimes I reckon I just need to be persistent.
I loved how in the movie Shawshank Redemption the guy in prison kept on writing each week for more books.  He just persisted.  Eventually it paid off and he got more.  When asked what he was going to do now he said he would just keep on writing.  Sometimes it seems it is just a case of getting what I am after to get someone off my back.
We made a point in the table tennis club of being in an organizations face.  We wanted it so that when they were having something they would see us.  We figured that was a way to let them know we really wanted what we wanted.  We also had a policy of making them look good.  We figured someone is more likely to be an ally if they feel the association is good for them.
We also did that with other businesses. We persistently used them so they would know we were not a fly by night operation and that we were all in this together.  I will never forget Merril wanting to weep one time when a company gave us a trolley load of good stuff for prizes for spectators.  We were knocked back so much but we persisted and it paid off.
I find so often persistence is the only way to achieve what I have in mind.  I am very much into things for the long term.  It really does not matter to me if something starts small and stays that way for ages.  Often I have something long term in mind.  If I feel it is right, I will go for it.  I have never known instant results.  But I have known results.
There are those that may see things differently.  They may be willing to pull the plug when something does not provide instant returns.  I do know there are times I need to be willing to walk away.  There was something we were involved in that we persisted at for two years.  In that time one person was positively impacted in the first week.
I am all for positive impacts but occasionally I need to measure the effort against the reward.  Sometimes a greater impact is found another way.  But when I really feel something is the way for me to go, I just need to persist. 
I can look pretty silly.  Maybe it is a bit like farmers.  In a drought many wonder why they would hold on.  But one thing they have learned.  Rain is coming.  They persist until the rain comes.  There are times I need to persist until the rain comes.  Things can look totally contrary to what I have in mind.  But that is not what I see.  I see the paddocks flourishing after the rain.
I guess I am that way because I have been the opposite way.  Building something only to pull it down.  These days I figure out if something is a goer and stay with it.  Things that start small need not be destined to remain that way.  Often it is just a persistence thing.