Perseverance is a quality that is important for achieving your personal and professional goals.

1. Perseverance:
Where there's a will
there's a way
Growing up, my parents always told me that I could do anything and be anything I wanted to
be if I put my mind to it. I heard my Dad say many times that “when there’s a will there’s a
way” to achieve personal and professional goals in life. My Dad not only believed in these
words but he lived them.
My father grew up in a poor household in Northern New Jersey.
His father was a plumber and his mother a clerical worker at a
trucking distribution center in town. While not raised wealthy, my
father’s childhood was rich with experiences working on a farm,
hunting with his father, raising over 10 hunting dogs and learning
how to fly fish and tie flies. As an only child, he was raised to
appreciate the little things in life and to make the best of any
situation. When the time came to consider college, my father
wasn’t really planning on going to school since no one else in the
After several conversations with his parents, my Dad applied to a
junior college in New Jersey and was accepted. My Dad was
always great at building things, so he concentrated on
mechanical engineering classes and completed his two years at
the junior college, graduating with honors. After graduation, my
Grandfather encouraged my Dad to apply to four - year
engineering colleges, and specifically MIT. My father didn’t
family had ever gone to college. However my Grandfather
encouraged him to apply to schools and earn his college degree
so he would have a better life then he had as a plumber.
think he could ever get in to MIT, let alone afford the costs of the tuition, room and board. But, my
Grandfather told him he should try and see what happens. Well, the rest is history…
My father was not only accepted into the mechanical engineering program at MIT, he was given a
complete scholarship to attend. My Dad went on to earn both his BS and his MS degrees in
mechanical engineering at MIT, and then applied and was accepted into Harvard Business School to
earn his MBA in Marketing.
My Dad has served as a role model and mentor to me
throughout my life and my career. I grew up in an upper middle
class family thanks to the perseverance and drive of both my
Dad and Mom, and I have lived by the mantra of “when there’s a
will, there’s a way”. My perseverance and drive gave me the
courage to earn my BS and MBA degrees from top notch
schools, to take the plunge to start and grow two companies,
and to pursue and achieve my professional goal to serve as a
Chief Marketing Officer.
I live with a “glass half full”
approach to life and believe
that my best years are still
to come!