Lesson #5: Make Perseverance Your Motto
Lesson #5: Make Perseverance Your Motto
Walker could not have gotten from where she started to where she wound up without a healthy dose of perseverance. Being born as an African American in the 19th century, the odds were already stacked against her. It was a time when few African Americans – let alone women – were running their own businesses, and making a success of it. The majority had little education and was either unemployed or underemployed. Walker, however, was determined not to share that same fate for the rest of her life.
To be sure, Walker suffered discrimination right along with her African American counterparts. One afternoon, when Walker had decided to go watch a movie, the ticket price charged to her was twice that of regular admission for white Americans. Walker was outraged, but instead of taking it lying down she decided to fight back. Walker promptly hired an attorney, sued the theatre for discrimination, and built her own movie complex in her Walker Building headquarters. Indeed, throughout much of her career, Walker made a point of fighting back, even visiting the White House in 1917 to protest the lynching of African Americans.
Because of her status, many onlookers saw Walker as being someone with little to lose and everything to gain. She was after all a poor minority born into a slave family. But Walker did have something to lose.
As her business continued to expand, Walker was turned on by many members of the black community. Despite all her efforts in the fight for equality, Walker was criticized, particularly by black ministers in local churches for what they saw as a product that encouraged black women to look white. Because Walker’s products allowed black women to wear their hair down long and straight, she was criticized as going against God’s will. After all, they said, if black women were meant to have straight hair, God would have given it to them.
Walker’s community was important to her, but she was not about to let their remarks deter her. “Perseverance is my motto,” she said, and was determined not to let any negative remarks stand in the way of running her business.
Walker continued to travel around the country, promoting her products door to door and hiring sales agents. By 1913, her company had a sales force over 20,000 strong throughout not only the U.S., but also Central America and the Caribbean. It is doubtful that her sales agents – mostly black women who went from making $2 a week as domestic workers to $25 a week selling Walker’s products – would have seen her as doing ungodly work. To them, she was a savior who opened up a world of new opportunities. Had Walker chosen not to persevere, she would not have been the only one missing out.
Lesson 5 Make Perseverance Your Motto
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“There is no royal flower-strewn path to success,” said Walker. “And if there is, I have not found it for if I have accomplished anything in life it is because I have been willing to work hard.”
Walker could not have gotten from where she started to where she wound up without a healthy dose of perseverance. Being born as an African American in the 19th century, the odds were already stacked against her. It was a time when few African Americans – let alone women – were running their own businesses, and making a success of it. The majority had little education and was either unemployed or underemployed. Walker, however, was determined not to share that same fate for the rest of her life.
To be sure, Walker suffered discrimination right along with her African American counterparts. One afternoon, when Walker had decided to go watch a movie, the ticket price charged to her was twice that of regular admission for white Americans. Walker was outraged, but instead of taking it lying down she decided to fight back. Walker promptly hired an attorney, sued the theatre for discrimination, and built her own movie complex in her Walker Building headquarters. Indeed, throughout much of her career, Walker made a point of fighting back, even visiting the White House in 1917 to protest the lynching of African Americans.
Because of her status, many onlookers saw Walker as being someone with little to lose and everything to gain. She was after all a poor minority born into a slave family. But Walker did have something to lose.
As her business continued to expand, Walker was turned on by many members of the black community. Despite all her efforts in the fight for equality, Walker was criticized, particularly by black ministers in local churches for what they saw as a product that encouraged black women to look white. Because Walker’s products allowed black women to wear their hair down long and straight, she was criticized as going against God’s will. After all, they said, if black women were meant to have straight hair, God would have given it to them.
Walker’s community was important to her, but she was not about to let their remarks deter her. “Perseverance is my motto,” she said, and was determined not to let any negative remarks stand in the way of running her business.
Walker continued to travel around the country, promoting her products door to door and hiring sales agents. By 1913, her company had a sales force over 20,000 strong throughout not only the U.S., but also Central America and the Caribbean. It is doubtful that her sales agents – mostly black women who went from making $2 a week as domestic workers to $25 a week selling Walker’s products – would have seen her as doing ungodly work. To them, she was a savior who opened up a world of new opportunities. Had Walker chosen not to persevere, she would not have been the only one missing out.
Lesson 5 Make Perseverance Your Motto
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Kim CastleWith nearly two decades in the advertising and design business, with clients like Domino's Pizza, General Motors, Direct TV, Pedigree, Wolfgang Puck, Higher Octave Music, Hollywood Celebrity Products, Disney, and Paramount, as well as thousands of entrepreneurs around the world define, structure, communicate, and position their business for greater profits, BrandU(R) co-creators Kim Castle and W. Vito Montone discovered that entrepreneurs could experience the same power that big brands command for a fraction of the cost with the world's only process-based results-drive Integral approach to business creation. BrandU(R) is helping entrepreneurs grow with the power of extreme clarity from idea...to brand...to market(TM) and helping one million entrepreneurs become successful and whole so that they can make a difference in the world. Are you one of them? If you want to experience clarity all the way to the bank(TM), get started now at http://www.brandu.com. - Visit Kim Castle's Website |
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George LudwigGeorge Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website |
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