1008 represents persistence.

It’s the number of times that Colonel Sanders offered his secret recipe for fried chicken to restaurants in exchange for a percentage of profits.

It was not until door number 1009 that he heard the word he set out to hear: YES!!!

I’ve heard variations of the Colonel’s story but there’s nothing like a number to illustrate how long someone is willing to stay with an idea following a definite purpose: in this case to subsidize what he would receive from social security so that he could enjoy a more pleasant retirement.

Persistence is the 8th step to riches in Napoleon Hill’s famous Think and Grow Rich. He said that persistence was the SUSTAINED EFFORT NECESSARY to induce faith. In my copy of Hill’s book I underlined: if one does not possess PERSISTENCE one does not achieve noteworthy success in any calling.

In thinking about the Colonel’s persistence:

1. He had a definiteness of purpose – he knew exactly what he wanted and set out to get just that
2. He believed in his recipe and knew he had what it took to carry out his plans

I’m sure that there were times that he might have felt discouraged but he kept on despite whatever might have wanted to deter him by making one presentation after another. Lord knows he could have come up with as many excuses matching the number 1008 – why he wouldn’t be successful. But he didn’t give up. He didn’t search for a get rich quick scheme or a something for nothing endeavor.

Finger lickers all around the world are glad that he did not give up.

What is it that you know in your heart that you should pursue, but you think it’s taking way too long to bear fruit?

What would your number be?