Grab Onto It Like A Junk Yard Dog

Sir Winston Churchill made famous the following phrase that has possibly been used around the world: “Never give up, never, never, never give up.” This was a keynote speech he gave to a graduating class. That was the extent of his speech and then he sat down. It was one of the shortest but most profound and memorable speech in history.

Never giving up is a position of the heart. It becomes an attitude that is taken when someone truly believes in what it is they are pursuing. It is the breakfast of champions and successful people.

It would be safe to say that if you want to be successful in life or to be accomplished at any thing, you have to adapt this attitude. There is no way around it.

The question is how do you do this? I have three suggestions that I believe will help you be this tenacious. First let me share this brief illustration from my little maltese dog at home that will strengthen the suggestions.

My dog whose name is Cody and who is at the time of this writing, 3yrs old weighs about 15lbs. He definitely is not a junk yard dog. He sometimes think he is bigger than he is by the way he acts when it comes to guarding or holding onto something he cherishes at the moment. Whenever one of us get close to him, he has this growl that suppose to serve as a warning that we are getting too close. We should at this point be trembling in our boots because of his growl; at least that is what he thinks.

Once we try to get whatever he has clamped his jaws on, be sure of this, he very rarely let go. The fight has begun. I have seen my children hold onto one end of whatever he has in his mouth and he the other end. They will lift it to a safe height and he steadfastly clings on to the point where all four feet are off the ground. He won’t let go no matter the distraction. To avoid any injury they will let it go by gently lowering him to the ground. Eventually when we are no longer wanting to take it from him, he will let go and walk away.

Here are the three suggestions, which can also be seen in the story of my dog, Cody:

1. It (whatever the it is) must be important to you
2. Put all of yourself and necessary resources into it. You cannot go in half hearted
3. Never let go no matter what distractions  come your way

To even illustrate this point further you could read the story that Jesus told of a little lady who had something very important to her that she wanted – justice. It is found in Luke 18. He shared how she would not let the unjust judge rest until he gave into her request. She never gave up until she received what she believed was due her. The point that he was making is that we should never give up no matter what. 

What is it that you have that is so important to you that you have decided that you are not going to let go of? Which of the three suggestions above fit your situation? What other thoughts do you have on the matter? Please leave me a comment in the box below.