Perseverance.

So this was supposed to be posted before I actually shared last Sunday, but this was the only time I had to post this. -JB

Perseverance is defined in the M-W as the following:

Steady persistence in adhering to a course of action, a belief, or a purpose; steadfastness.

The act or habit of persevering; persistence in anything undertaken; continued pursuit or prosecution of any business or enterprise begun; steady persistency in any state or course of action: applied alike to good and evil.

Perseverance may sustain your talent, but we go back to vision to sustain your perseverance.

And we need to talk about you and your vision. As you can see down the line, we aren’t just talking about one aspect of ourselves here, but our entire being. I saw the need for us to talk about Foundation and its all-encompassing effect upon all that we are, to tell you that this goes beyond just what you’re good at doing.

And because we’re talking about talent down to its roots to everything that you are, and the Savior who holds you together, then you ought to know that your vision is the same way. Stop disrespecting the notion of a vision by limiting it only to what you want. Your vision should be a vivid picture of your future, but it should also be how you perceive yourself now, in light of all that you’ve experienced from the moment you were brought into this world, up until today.

It is this vision of what you’ve endured in the past, what you’re currently experiencing, and what you see ahead of you – THAT’s the vision that sustains you and what you do no matter what negative encounters you are threatened with.

And in your constructing of your vision, you’ll probably notice how Christ has been faithful through it all.

Flow

When it comes to perseverance, it is not what you put in but what you put out that sustains your talent.

See, our talents are not static. Think of your talents as a river. If we’re afraid to lose our talents, if we’re afraid of getting our water stolen or lost, we would seal it all up. We would build a dam.

But given enough time, the waters would become stagnant and lifeless, more harmful than beneficial. Same thing with out talents. When what we know, what we do, and what we believe has nowhere to go but to stay in our heads, they would only rot. Unused talent takes too much space in our heads, space that could very well be used for new ideas and insights.

So what are we to do? Shouldn’t we protect that which we have? No, on the contrary, we respect ourselves, and our talents, when we share them. We actually keep what we are willing to lose.

Robert Greene writes, ‘Destroy the dam. When water flows and circulates, it generates abundance, wealth, and power in ever larger circles. The River must flood periodically for good things to flourish.’

Think of your talents as blood. When it flows, it doesn’t clot. When it flows, it brings life to your insides and limbs.

Flow is the positive side of the coin.

Flow is what not only sustains your talent but allows it to thrive.