On Persistence

Some of you that know me or have worked with me know that I keep a quote on my office door (when I had one!) or on my wall. The quote is about persistence. It goes like this:

“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence.  Talent will not: nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent.  Genius will not;  unrewarded genius is almost a proverb.  Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts.  Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.  The slogan ‘press on’ has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.”

-Calvin Coolidge, 30th President of the United States

I just wanted to share a quick story about a friend, his name is Mike Banhagel.

Mike is a great guy and one of Dan’s best friends, he works in architecture and land development. Over 7 years ago he told Dan and I about an idea he had for a new kind of pot. The type of pot that are used in nurseries for plants, trees and such. This new kind of pot makes it easier to transfer large or small plants from their pots to the ground. He called them “zip pots“.

He had many false starts, and setbacks, but he never gave up. Even having a full time job he worked year after year on his idea when he could.

Yesterday Dan got an email from Mike with one of the most beautiful set of pictures I have ever seen. You see his pots have made it into a little company you might have heard of, Home Depot.

I’m going to add this picture to the quote on my wall to remind me to never give up, keep going, and “press on”!

Congrats Mike!!