Until.

I don't have kids so I don't really know the answer to this, but I think its a fair question. How long should a baby try to learn to walk? I mean how long do you give your average baby before you say, "Hey bud, nice effort, but you're just not a walker. I think you should stick to crawling."

Of course every parent in the world is going to say, "You're crazy, my baby is going to keep trying __________ he/she walks." 
The word that your brain just filled in the blank is, of course, UNTIL.

The great Jim Rohn is where I first heard the magic of UNTIL.

What a magical word; UNTIL.  Somewhere when we grow up (whatever that means) we forget about this magical word.  We stop using it and become something the people call "realistic."  We try things for short periods of time and if they don't work out right away we revert back to something easier, something more comfortable.  We forget about pursuing our desires UNTIL we achieve them.

In his book The Travelers Gift (one of my most recommended books of all time), Andy Andrews talks about this subject using a different phrase. Without going total spoiler alert, one of the decisions his main character receives is, "I will persist without exception."

Both of these magical words and phrases hold the same meaning. Many people talk about persistence, but I love how Andy takes it slightly further by adding "without exception." As he says, you can persist for years, and then quit if you're tired. If you don't have his two powerful words on the end of the phrase you can get away with, "Hey I went after my goals and dreams for 5 whole years, I persisted plenty through tough times, and I found out it just doesn't work for me." But with the added without exception, you never let yourself off the hook. You simply cannot quit. You have decided to drive forward UNTIL. When you make the decision to persist without exception, to visualize, think, and work UNTIL, you have guaranteed your success. You have no choice but to keep going UNTIL. Which I suppose means either achievement or death. As 50 cent says, "Get Rich or Die Tryin."

I don't know if you people of the internet are all jacked up about this, but I am now. And I could probably write about 50 pages on this but I know how long your attention span is so I'll try to keep it short. Re-reading this chapter from The Travelers Gift has got me all ready to run through a wall. Look at some of these other golden nuggets from this book on the subject. 

"I acknowledge that most people quit when exhaustion sets in. I am not "most people." I am stronger than most people. Average people accept exhaustion as a matter of course. I do not. Average people compare themselves with other people. That is why they are average. I see exhaustion as a precursor to victory."

 The Travelers Gift on Faith:
"Too much of my life has been spent doubting my beliefs and believing my doubts. No more! I have faith in my future. I do not look left or right. I look forward. I can only persist."

Holy frick that's some good stuff right there, and every line of the book is like that!  I first read this book when I was 25 and have since continued to read from it more than any other book. When I started writing this post I had no intention of even talking about The Travelers Gift, and then this just happened. That must mean something.  So just go read the damn book before I quote the entire thing!
And then figure out what truly makes you happy, what you desire from this life, and decide that you are going to pursue it UNTIL.  

Be awesome.

-Tom Spaniol

"Being realistic is the most commonly traveled road to mediocrity."
-Will Smith