Perseverance
by Margaret J. Wheatley
Paintings by Asante Salaam

In this inspiring and beautifully illustrated book, best-selling author Margaret Wheatley offers guidance to people everywhere for how to persevere through challenges in their personal lives, with their families, at their workplaces, in their communities, and in their efforts to make a better world. 

Perseverance is a day-by-day decision not to give up.  Wheatley does not offer the usual feel-good, rah-rah messages.  Instead, she focuses on the situations, feelings, and challenges that can, over time, cause us to lose heart or lose our way. When we feel lost, overwhelmed, betrayed or exhausted, we need to know we have a choice for how we respond.  And we have to nurture the rewarding times, when we experience the joy of working together on something hard but worthwhile, when we realize we’ve made a small difference. 

In a series of short and compassionate essays, Wheatley names a behavior or dynamic—such as fearlessness, guilt, joy, jealousy—that supports or impedes our efforts to persevere. She puts each in a broader human or timeless perspective, offering ways to either live with or transcend each one.

These essays are self-contained—you can thumb through the book and find what attracts you or what you need in the moment. There deliberately are no examples of other people or their experiences. You are the example—your personal experiences are the basis for change.

In addition to Wheatley’s graceful essays, there are poems and quotations drawn from traditions and cultures around the world and throughout history.  The book is deeply grounded spiritually, accessing human experience and wisdom from many sources. This inclusiveness supports the essential message—human beings throughout time have persevered.  We’re just the most recent ones to face these challenges, and we too can persevere, on behalf of the people, causes and places we love.

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Subscribe to the Email Preview Series, "For Persevering People"
If you'd like to sample Perseverance and also be able to work with the book's material immediately, I invite you to subscribe to a free, web-based subscription series I've created: "For Persevering People."

Every week, for 8 weeks, you'll receive two pages from the book. The book's design lends itself well to this format; every page contains a provocative quote and a brief essay exploring one theme. This series is offered free and you may cancel at any time.