Happy Persistence - Ep. 465

Happy Persistence is not about winning at any cost,
It’s about keeping and working towards a clear goal,
One that you constantly reassess, so you don’t get lost,
In some stubborn attempt to fill some unfillable hole.  

[full text below]

Ep. 465 - Happy Persistence

We begin as always
with the Happy Creed.

We Believe in Happy,
in Balance and Growth,
of being Mindful and Grateful, 
Compassionate and Understanding.

Yowza
Haha
My Happy Friends!

Today marks the anniversary of my decision to become a writer,
It was when I was eighteen, and I thought of a shining story,
But knew I would first need to live a full life to make it brighter,
And now I’m as old as I guessed I’d need to be for such glory. 

Never giving up and not taking “no” for an answer has its time and place,
But it can also backfire, so, while you can be tenacious, also be wise,
I have been known to be wildly dogged in my pursuit of a pretty face,
Only to discover that going by looks alone rarely results in a worthy prize. 

Served me right, of course, putting value on something so shallow as looks,
And so I don’t do that anymore, but let a person’s attractiveness slowly build,
I get to know them and their story, looking deep past the cover of their books,
And as their allure grows, I go from being merely interested to fully thrilled.

And, yes, there’s a persistence at play there as well, but of a more patient sort,
There are many flavors and intensities of persistence, of course, and I’ve tried many,
More than once I have engaged in debates with corporations almost as a sport,
One was for a ticket exchange, and another was for a gift card—and I got every penny.

It took 40 emails and three weeks for the ticket, 50 emails and six weeks for the card,
I was never rude, never cruel, never petty—I simply never relented, until they blinked,
And then I was gracious, grateful, and gone, for I’d already pushed them way too hard,
I wasn’t there to gloat, I was just glad it had all worked out before we both went extinct.

I find myself in another situation where patient persistence could serve me well,
I’m trying to help a vendor see the benefits of becoming licensed to use our brand,
I work for a state university and so the red tape is extensive to allow them to sell
Items with our logo, but the opportunities it could unlock for them are simply grand.

We earn no money from the process, we simply wish to buy their branded stuff,
But they question the process and wonder if the expense will be worth it,
I can’t promise them future orders, but the current one should be more than enough,
So I’ll keep trying to convince them of the value of it all, because I’m not one to quit.

Happy Persistence is not about winning at any cost,
It’s about keeping and working towards a clear goal,
One that you constantly reassess, so you don’t get lost,
In some stubborn attempt to fill some unfillable hole.  

Haha
Yowza