Bedtime story reading with my son is the best part of my day, and hopefully his too. I read him a variety of stories - from heroic dog stories to Dr. Seuss and the Adventure Bible. Lately we’ve been reading the timeless classic The Book of Virtues by William J. Bennett. Through short stories and poems, this book teaches kids how to deal with everyday challenges in life and to make ethical choices even though they may not be easy. When reading it to my son, I find it also helps me, so we both win 🙂 As advertised, it’s a treasury of great moral stories, and I highly recommend it to any parent.

Last night I read him the poem ‘You Mustn’t Quit’ and I think every entrepreneur should live by this creed…

You Mustn’t Quit

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,

When the road you’re trudging seems all uphill,

When the funds are low and the debts are high

And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,

When care is pressing you down a bit,

Rest! if you must – but never quit.

Life is queer, with its twists and turns,

As every one of us sometimes learns,

And many a failure turns about

When he might have won if he’d stuck it out;

Stick to your task, though the pace seems slow-

You may succeed with one more blow.

Success is failure turned inside out-

The silver tint of the clouds of doubt –

And you never can tell how close you are,

It may be near when it seems afar;

So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit –

It’s when things seem worst that you musn’t quit.

Simple and true. Perseverance is the most important trait an entrepreneur can have. You never know how close you are to breaking through, but few ever find out because they often quit too soon. Nothing like a children’s poem to get entrepreneurs fired up on a Monday morning 🙂

Stay hungry,

Aaron

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