Quote of the Week...from Louis Pasteur

Let me tell you the secret that has led me to my goal. My strength lies solely in my tenacity.
                                                                              ---Louis Pasteur.

France's Louis Pasteur was one of the giants of the nineteenth-century explosion of scientific discovery in the field of microbiology, developing the science of vaccination and the process of Pasteurization among many other achievements.  But you don't need to be someone of Pasteur's fame and respect to recognize the great truth behind the above quote of his: tenacity...or perseverance or endurance, if you will...is a very crucial factor for succeeding in any sort of goal-directed endeavor.  But in order to fully appreciate what I believe Pasteur meant by tenacity, I think it's important to stress that it involves not just sticking with an endeavor through time and against adversities, but also to continually pursue that endeavor in a concentrated, focused way that others may regard as being a bit on the fanatical side.  And here is where I have a problem: social resistance to one's development of excellence...

One can be wholeheartedly committed to an endeavor and have everything in place to employ that tenacity of consistent, concentrated effort that Louis Pasteur referred to, but if the surrounding people are continually calling them to task for that very arduousness that is so necessary for success...using arguments that they've changed for the worse, aren't paying enough attention to this thing or that, need to spend more time doing other things, or that their life needs more balance...then eventually they're going to give up just through sheer frustration.  I think there's a good rationale behind the idea of young people, after having built up their social relationships throughout their childhood and adolescence in their home towns, then going away to a fresh environment at a more distant college to pursue their degrees...of course, they'll still have their everyday distractions there as well as having to contend with folks who object to their serious task-orientation, but at least they won't have their entire being called into question for devoting the prolonged, focused attention they need to employ in order to achieve their academic goals.  For myself, my problem isn't with the people in my life, who have been supportive, but rather with an inner sense of inertia that keeps me from boldly striking out in new directions...