By Russell Williams
Tribune Online Columnist
July 30, 2005

I’ve never forgotten the words. They appeared above the boys’ locker room door when I entered seventh grade: “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.”

Character development is not for the fainthearted. Just as a single letter separates chump from champ, so does the character attribute of persistence divide life’s whiners from winners.

Former Supreme Court Chief Justice William Douglas was a 20th century giant. As a youngster he experienced a life-threatening illness that left his legs nearly paralyzed. For months he was confined to bed. In spite of this tough situation, young William persistently held the vision of someday walking, jogging, running up the local mountain he viewed from his bedroom window in his home state of Washington.

It took William years of daily effort to transform two crippled legs into powerful limbs that ultimately propelled him up the mountain. During these same years William developed a great love for America’s wilderness which he would help to preserve.

A wise voice once spoke, “Into everyone’s life a little rain shall fall.” As a parent or classroom teacher, you can give your kids exercises to help them harness the virtue of persistence to prepare them for their rainy days. Challenge them with a project to accomplish requiring a series of steps over a period of time. This will build their persistence muscles. Additionally, your kids will begin appreciating that they’re equipped to move around, over and through the obstacles they may face as they strive to achieve small and large goals.

The sculptor was asked, “How do you create such beautiful human form out of stone?” She responded, “I just chip away at everything that doesn’t look human.” Kids who become confident adult achievers learn not to be in a hurry on their way to success. They learn to go slow and not blow. They learn to chip away persistently.

Persistence is a sure-bet character vitamin to give all the children you touch. Providing it will help prepare the kids you love to become a resilient adult destined to hang tough whenever things get a little rough.

Russell Williams is president of Passkeys Foundation Jefferson Center for Character Education. For information contact (949) 770-7602 or www.passkeys.org

– Russell Williams