EmbracethePowerofPersistenceforBreakthroughResults - PDF to Podcast
Published on Oct 10, 2026
Description:
Have you ever started something with real fire, and then watched the fire go out? Not dramatically. Just quietly.
Yvonne A. Jones names that pattern in her workbook, Embrace the Power of Persistence for Breakthrough Results. She describes it as the cycle of starting and then stopping. You begin a new project or goal with a lot of excitement, but over time that excitement fades, and you might give up.And Yvonne says it happens for lots of reasons. Maybe you were too optimistic, you didn't plan enough, or you felt too much pressure from outside.
That's a relief, honestly. It suggests the quitting usually isn't a character flaw. It's a missing structure.So, how does the workbook define persistence?
As the steadfast continuation of action or belief, often despite difficulty or opposition. Yvonne frames it as maintaining your course and your efforts over the long term until you achieve your goals, and she links it closely to resilience, the ability to bounce back from setbacks.
Let's stay with that, because the workbook makes a specific case for who needs persistence most.
Yvonne writes that for mature online entrepreneurs, persistence is invaluable because it demonstrates a commitment to overcoming unique challenges, including rapidly changing technology, new marketing strategies, and evolving consumer behaviors.
She's writing from experience, isn't she?
She is. She says she walked away from Corporate America and a stable salary at 52, and not everyone supported the decision. She had nurtured her dream of entrepreneurship for about three decades, and she worked on her own business in her spare time while still an employee.By the time she handed in her resignation and started her online journey, she'd had two successful offline businesses. She says working with a mentor helped her clarify the basics, and knowing she had a resource to answer her questions helped her keep moving toward her goals.
Notice what she isn't claiming there. She isn't saying experience makes it easy. She's saying experience is an asset you can apply, even when the results aren't immediate.
Right, and the workbook puts it plainly. Success rarely comes overnight. It calls for dedication, a willingness to iterate and improve, and the tenacity to stay the course.
Then there's the section where it gets uncomfortable.
The workbook defines self-sabotage as getting in our own way, stopping ourselves from achieving what we want. Yvonne says it shows up as negative self-talk, putting things off, trying to make things perfect, or setting goals that are too high, and that those actions usually come from a place of fear, doubt, or past experiences.
So, what does she suggest you do about it?
Look at your thoughts and your actions, and question the negative stories you've told yourself. She suggests spending a week writing down times you think you get in your own way, then reviewing them for patterns and key triggers.There's also a role-reversal exercise. Think about what you would tell a friend who talked about themselves the way you talk about yourself.
She brings in a quote at that point from Thomas Edison. Many people fail because they didn't realize how close they were to success when they gave up.
And she offers affirmations to use as touchstones when doubt creeps in. One is: I release the need for perfection and celebrate every step forward, recognizing that progress matters more than perfection.Section three is called Build Your Persistence Muscle. Jones frames persistence as more than just keeping going. It's a foundation of habits, attitudes, and a mindset that looks beyond the immediate problems to ultimate success.Her exercises include a 14-day resilience journal: write down the challenges you face each day and how you handle them, then review it for patterns. There's also an obstacle course exercise where you list the hurdles you might run into and how you plan to get past them or reduce their impact.
And goals come next?
In her words, goals and planning are your compass and map. She writes that when goals are clear, you can focus your efforts and track your progress, and that this clarity turns ambition into action.She makes a point about scale. It's not about running a long race. It's about completing a series of short runs that are much easier to manage, and she recommends micro-tasking, breaking action steps down until each one takes two hours or less, because we often underestimate how much time we need.
She pairs that with a Branson line. Do not be embarrassed by your failures, learn from them and start again.
And section five adds a lighter tool. Pair tasks you dread with activities you enjoy; for example, let yourself listen to a beloved podcast only while tackling household chores. She also suggests gamification, where tasks become levels and obstacles become enemies.Section six calls concentration the bedrock of persistence. Yvonne suggests identifying your natural concentration span rather than assuming a standard 25-minute block, keeping a notepad to capture distractions for later, and setting specific times to check email and social media.
She also offers mantras for when your mind wanders. One is: breathe in focus, exhale distraction. I am fully present in this moment.
Then section seven takes on willpower. It argues that willpower flourishes through thoughtful cultivation, practice, mindset shifts, and strategies, rather than fading with fatigue as physical strength does. It opens with: "Like the current beneath a still lake, willpower propels you silently towards your goals."The central exercise is called The Art of Waiting. When a small urge shows up, like a snack or a scroll-pause for a quarter hour before acting on it, and ask yourself what that waiting period reveals about your impulses.
She closes the workbook with Napoleon Hill. Patience, persistence, and perspiration make an unbeatable combination for success.
Yvonne A. Jones describes herself as a Certified Life and Business Coach, Online Marketing Strategist, and Relationship-Building Strategist who guides mature online entrepreneurs to grow their businesses without becoming marketing experts.The workbook notes that HuffingtonPost.com listed her among the Top 100 Most Social Customer Service Pros to Follow on Twitter, and that GetApp.com recognized her as one of the Top 15 Most Influential Customer Service Experts to Follow on Twitter. It also lists her as Small Businessperson of the Year for her area by Alignable in 2018, 2021, 2023, and 2024.
And her mantra, which I think is the real thread running through the whole thing. Focus on relationships, the money will follow.
She also tells readers to grab the accompanying workbook to work on the action steps, and she makes it clear that every small step counts as an achievement. She frames it from the start as persistence, not a destination, but a continuous path of learning, adapting, and growing.
Which is the part I'd keep. The workbook doesn't promise that persistence makes it easy. It promises that persistence is buildable, and that's a much more useful thing to hear.
If you want to go further, the material cites her site, 50andWiserCoaching.com, and her LinkedIn profile. Thanks for listening, and pick one exercise this week. Just one.