George B. Thomas
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We hear the word persistence so often that it starts to lose meaning. People talk about it like it is a badge of honor. “I grind. I hustle. I never stop.” For a long time, I thought that was what persistence meant, too. But I eventually realized that the definition was all wrong.
What we often call persistence is really exhaustion dressed up as ambition.True persistence does not drain you. It does not force you to white-knuckle every challenge until you collapse. Real persistence is sustainable. It is anchored in clarity, fueled by purpose, balanced by rest, and flexible enough to pivot when needed. It looks less like a dramatic breakthrough moment and more like a series of quiet steps that eventually shape the whole trajectory of your business and your life.
Persistence is about showing up imperfectly, patiently, and consistently for the things that matter most. It is about honoring your natural rhythm instead of copying someone else’s pace. Most importantly, it is about keeping promises to yourself before you try to keep them for anyone else.
That is where the real transformation happens.
The Future Gift of Late-Night Persistence
There is a certain kind of night I will never forget. I had already worked a full day. My family was relaxing on the couch. The TV was humming in the background. And there I was, with my laptop open, pouring time into something no client asked for, no boss demanded, and no paycheck depended on.
This was not busywork. It was not an obligation. It was the kind of work that stirs your spirit. The kind of work that connects to your deeper purpose.
And in those quiet moments, I thought about Marcus Sheridan. Years ago, Marcus came home from long days running his pool company and sat down to write blog articles. He had no idea those articles would change his life. He did not know they would lead to speaking, books, and opportunities he could not imagine then.
He was simply showing up in the quiet hours and being persistent.
That night, I realized I was doing the same thing. These were not wasted hours. They were future gifts I was giving myself. I could not see what the gift would look like, but I trusted the effort. That is persistence in its truest form, choosing to do work today that your future self will one day thank you for.
In business, those quiet deposits compound into credibility, relationships, and opportunities you cannot yet imagine. They become better relationships, healthier routines, and real personal growth. The secret is that persistence isn’t always loud. Most of the time, it shows up as a quiet voice inside you saying, “Keep going. This matters.”
Stubbornness into True Persistence
For years, I was labeled hardheaded. People said I was stubborn, bullheaded, and unwilling to bend. And you know what? I believed them. But words shape reality. The way you label yourself becomes the way you see yourself. And the way you see yourself becomes the way you live.
🤔 Think about that for a moment!
When I called myself stubborn, I imagined inflexibility, maybe even a problem for others. But as I spent time building the Superhuman Framework, I realized I was not hardheaded at all. I was persistent, and that shift mattered more than I could have imagined.
Because stubbornness clings to the wrong things out of pride. Persistence stays committed to the right things with purpose and confidence.
That reframing turned what I once saw as a weakness into a superpower. Instead of shrinking under a negative label, I stood taller in a positive truth. I was not a stubborn man fighting the world. I was a persistent human, repeatedly showing up for the work and people I love.
So here is the insight for you. What labels are you carrying that are weighing you down? Maybe people have told you you are too much, too intense, or too idealistic. Maybe you have repeated those words back to yourself. But what if you reframed them?
- What if “too much” became passionate?
- What if “intense” became focused?
- What if “idealistic” became visionary?
That reframe could be the difference between doubting your vision and pursuing it confidently in business. It could be the difference between apologizing for who you are and finally standing fully in it.
The One Percent Better Whisper
Here is a confession. I do not always feel like moving forward. Some days, the weight is heavy, motivation is nowhere to be found, and the road feels too long. But in those moments, I have built a whisper that lives in my head.
“Alright, bro. One percent better today. Just take another step.”
That phrase has saved me more times than I can count. Persistence does not ask you to leap mountains in a single bound; it simply asks you to take the next step. One percent may not seem like much. In fact, it might seem invisible. But when you stack those one percents, they compound.
They become momentum, and momentum becomes transformation.
In business, that one percent could be one more call, email, or blog post. It might not feel like much in the moment, but over time, it becomes the brand, the client list, or the system that changes everything.
In life, one percent might be drinking water instead of soda, going for a walk instead of scrolling, or saying the honest thing in a conversation instead of hiding. Tiny, repeated daily steps create results you will barely recognize years from now. So if you are tired, unsure, or the mountain feels too big, let me hand you the whisper that has carried me: one percent better today.
Just one.
Consistency and the Power of Compound Persistence
When people see where I am now, they see the businesses, the speaking, the frameworks, and the content. What they do not always see are the thousands of HubSpot tutorials I recorded along the way.
Here is the truth about those tutorials: Not one of them was extraordinary on its own, none of them went viral, and none of them looked like the magic moment. But I showed up anyway. Day after day. Week after week. Year after year. And those tutorials compounded. They built credibility. They attracted clients.
They created opportunities.
That is the real face of persistence. It rarely looks extraordinary in the moment. But it becomes extraordinary in hindsight when you stack consistent effort over time.
In business, that means every blog, customer interaction, and system you refine matters. They are bricks in the foundation you are building. In life, every workout, quiet morning of reflection, and meaningful conversation compound into who you become. Persistence does not shout in the moment. But give it time, and it will speak louder than anything else.
How Persistence Shapes Business Growth
Business is often where we misunderstand persistence the most. We glorify the grind, confuse movement with progress, and sacrifice ourselves at the altar of our goals, thinking that is what it takes. But persistence in business is not about working until you collapse.
- It is about staying consistent when motivation fades.
- It is about pivoting when the market shifts instead of clinging to old ways out of fear.
- It is about building systems that last instead of chasing shortcuts that fizzle.
And it is about serving people with patience, honesty, and trust rather than pushing them for transactions. The flourishing businesses are not always the flashiest. They are the ones that keep showing up with clarity, integrity, and adaptability.
Why Persistence Is the Most Important Promise in Life
In life, persistence is deeply personal. It is the most important promise you can keep to yourself. If you cannot persist for yourself and cannot show up when no one else is watching, how can you expect to show up for others? Persistence in life is about keeping the small promises. It is about honoring your body when it tells you it needs rest. It is about being honest with yourself when it is time to pivot. It is about staying true to your values, even when it would be easier to cut corners.
Persistence does not always look exciting. Most of the time, it is unglamorous. But that is what makes it powerful. The difference between living in default and living in flourishing is often persistence.
One keeps you stuck. The other keeps you moving.
Key Insights for Applying Persistence
So, how do you take persistence from an idea to something real in your life? You start by anchoring it to a purpose. Without purpose, persistence becomes a hamster wheel of activity. But when you know why you are doing something, persistence becomes fuel. You celebrate the small wins.
Waiting for the big breakthrough will burn you out.
But recognizing the invisible steps will build momentum. You reframe failure. Every misstep is instruction, not the end of the story. You protect your rest because rest is not quitting; it is fuel for the next step.
Above all, you stay honest with yourself. If your persistence is draining your well-being or pulling you away from your values, it is time to pivot. Sometimes, the most courageous form of persistence is knowing when to let go.
Redefining Persistence for Business and Life
Persistence is not about proving how much you can endure. It is about proving to yourself that what matters most is worth coming back to again and again. Persistence looked like late-night laptop sessions that became a future gift for me. It looked like reframing stubbornness into the strength of a persistent badass. It sounded like a whisper that told me to get one percent better today.
And it stacked up through thousands of tutorials that compounded into a transformation.
For you, it may look different. But the principle is the same. Persistence is the quiet force that changes everything. It builds the systems, relationships, and credibility that carry you forward in business.
In life, it builds self-trust, meaning, and flourishing.
So here is my challenge to you. Redefine persistence. Stop confusing it with endless grind. Stop dismissing it as stubbornness. See it for what it truly is, the steady, imperfect, patient commitment to what matters most. Because when you connect persistence to your purpose, your passion, and your love for yourself and others, it will carry you further than motivation ever could. And it will take you beyond default patterns and into a life where you thrive.