Stand through it · 3X Freedom

Stand through it

On Persistance:

I'm interested enough in the etymology and philology of words (where they come from and how they change over time) that I run an internet search every now and then when I wonder, "Huh; why do we say that?" That is to say: I trust the first result I read, and only dig deeper if things get interesting (yes; I realize "interesting" is perhaps doing some heavy lifting here.) 😂

Words often change meaning over time, or get pronounced or spelled in different ways. "Ye olde shoppe" is one of my favourites— British spelling for emphasis —because there is a fascinating, yet quite practical reason it looks like "yee" but is actually pronounced "the".

But, my message today is about persistence:

Roots and History

The Prefix: per-, which means "through".
The Base: It combines with sistere, "to stand".
French Influence: The verb "persister" was adapted to a noun form "persistance".
English Adoption: English borrowed the word, adding a firm or stubborn connotation.

Today, the English meaning and spelling essentially reflects the Latin origin! In other words, it has ... persisted! 👏

So have I.

I've started negotiations with a client in February. I had an idea for their marketing, communications, and website. It's a bit of a seasonal business: STEAM programming for school children. So, I wanted to get started early, and set a foundation for their Fall operations this year. But they went a different direction.

We've kept in touch. I've followed up regularly. They've sent back questions. Yada yada. Essentially, I developed a good bit of rapport (another English word borrowed from the French). Today, I contracted with them to do the work.

I couldn't have expected this yesterday, but I feel lighter today. My shoulders have less tension. I'm more harmonious in my interactions with people around me. Something feels right that I didn't even know felt wrong before. I can't attribute that entirely to the completion of this goal, but I'd be ignorant if I didn't realize it's a contributing factor. It's not just the business side of things, either; this is not my biggest client by far.

But the work is important to me. ♥️

There's a better lesson here, I'm sure. But for me, today, the lesson has been about persistence. This is bigger than just sticking around to make a sale. This particular outreach was a test case for the beginning of a new kind of agency work I've never done before. Honestly, my only expectation was that I'd learn something, even if I didn't end up with a contract. But here we are; the first deliverable is due next week!

So, if you're in a place where you're wondering whether to stick it out, especially if your heart is drawn to something. If you value things borrowed from the French, I guess: I say, per-siste! ✊

Stand through it. It may do you some good you don't even expect.

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Stand through it