So here we are at the fourth and final part on the D.E.A.D. principle. I think you will find that this is a pretty exciting piece of the puzzle, and personally I love the illustration that will be used to bring it to life.
The final piece of this puzzle is “Determination.” In my personal opinion, this is the one of the four that must, above all, be the characteristic that we must keep constant in our quest for success. It is part of the human condition to be in a state of fluctuation. Our desire will ebb and flow to one degree or another as will our enthusiasm and attitude. In our professional lives, if we are mindful of these characteristics we can, for the most part, keep them in line most of the time fairly easily. When it comes to determination, there is much less wiggle room!
When the other three facets of the D.E.A.D. principle waiver, it is determination that will pull each of the others in line.
In the simplest of terms, determination is that spark inside of us that refuses to quit or give in when logic or any other measure says quit!
Consider the bulldog. They are kind of a funny-looking dog. It is my understanding that bulldogs because of their breeding cannot be born naturally and must be born via c-section. Their heads are so large and their jaws so massive and powerful by design. The purpose was to raise or breed a dog to fight bulls, hence the name bulldog! A bulldog has an unbelievable amount of determination and tenacity. When placed in the ring together, the chase is on! Naturally, size and strength advantage by far belongs to the bull. However, the bull will chase the dog and then the dog will turn things around and chase the bull. This goes back and forth for some time until the dog literally wears out the bull. The bull will be standing alone with his head low breathing heavily. It is this moment that the dog seizes upon and latches those massive relentless jaws on the snout of the bull. The bull will shake and shake to no avail. He will toss the dog around and hit him up against the wall of the ring until finally the bull lays down and gives up. The little sixty pound dog wins because of the amazing determination!
It is this determination we must learn and cultivate if it does not come naturally to us. If it already does, consider yourself blessed! If it is not one of your strong points, it might be time to work on stirring it up within yourself. Many times we can win if we simply refuse to give up. Outlasting our competition can place us in a position to bring about great success in our lives and businesses. Being able to hang in the fight long enough gets us to a place where we grow enough that we achieve greater things than we could have otherwise attained. The lessons learned from our refusing to give in or quit teaches us so many unforeseen and valuable lessons that the value of determination cannot be overstated. All four of the characteristics of the D.E.A.D. principle are vitally important. But it is the element of determination that can carry us when all else fails.
Whatever your field of interest, I encourage you to go out and begin to apply this principle. Whether in sales, politics, education, sports, ministry or whatever it is you do, get out and apply the D.E.A.D. principle and see how it breathes new life into all you do!