Pursue your Mission with Persistence and Passion

Charles Darwin and Francis Galton were half-cousins, sharing the same grandfather, Erasmus Darwin.  As adult scientists they began writing letters to each other. In one letter, Darwin commenting on book written by Galton said, "I have always maintained that, excepting fools, men did not differ much in intellect, only in zeal and hard work."

A more recent example is a study of participants in the Scripp's 2006 National Spelling Bee by researchers at Penn. The findings suggests that the character trait that distinguished top performers from the rest was their passionate and persistent commitment to accomplish their goals. They worked harder, they gave up less, they just worked harder than others.

Achievement springs from hard work, not raw talent. Persistent, sustained pursuit of your mission is the clearest sign of a true professional.