Persistence

At the end of last night's news conference, in response to a question about the Arab-Israeli conflict, President Obama spoke about the importance of persistence. I've been thinking about the value of persistence - in the making of ANYTHING, whether it be the building of political accord or the creating of dance and theater. Even when encountering adversity, going forward, staying with it. Here are his remarks:

"You know, leaders from the two sides of Northern Ireland that, you know, a couple of decades ago -- or even a decade ago -- people would have said could never achieve peace, and here they were, jointly appearing, and talking about their commitment, even in the face of violent provocation.

...And what that tells me is that, if you stick to it, if you are persistent, then -- then these problems can be dealt with.

That whole philosophy of persistence, by the way, is one that I'm going to be emphasizing again and again in the months and years to come as long as I'm in this office. I'm a big believer in persistence..."

Obama's remarks brought to mind the words of another president, Calvin Coolidge:

“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan "press on" has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race”