Thoughts on the Value of Thoroughness, Determination and "Being Bothered"

Sometimes it strikes me that determination and perseverance can end up being of greater value than simply having outright talent or good fortune at something.

I sort of experienced it first-hand this past week as I found myself helping out a friend by going through a very large hoard of old stamp collections that had been sitting in an attic for more than 20 years. Even though his wife died a long time ago, he hadn't had the heart to let go of her "collections" till I came along and volunteered to help, as a "trusted friend."

Now, people often grow very attached to their collections and hobbies, to the point that sometimes there's almost a mystique of ”expensive and valuable” that attaches to their efforts. Sadly, a large part of the time that mystique is no more than a myth that doesn't have much bearing on reality.

Anyway, this person had clearly put a lot of time and effort into ”accumulating” something, but the mythology surrounding ”grandma’s stamps” it was ultimately far bigger than the reality.

Being a fairly thorough person by nature, I practiced due diligence and took the time to honor this person’s memory by spending a lot of time making sure that there weren't any ”golden nuggets” hidden In the many boxes.

In taking that extra step and being really thorough and determined, I think I have managed to turn something that most estate buyers and wholesalers might have offered $50 for into maybe 10 times that much.

Above all, though, I managed to keep a friendship going.

The whole experience reminded me of how often it holds true in life that the most important thing you can do this be thorough and practice due diligence with whatever you're facing, rather than rely purely on either pure talent or good fortune.

I thought about how this applied to other aspects of life… even including something relatively simple like keeping up with my blogs. I'm certainly not the most gifted writer out there, but I have a lot of determination and I do that one really important thing… which is to show up as often as possible, because — as the saying goes — "nothing comes from nothing."

Thanks for reading and have a great reminder of your week!

How about YOU? Do you tend to be a thorough and meticulous person? Or do you prefer to leave that to others? Do you have any sort of "collections?" Are you thorough and meticulous with those? Do leave a comment — share your experiences — be part of the conversation!

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Created at 20220203 00:02 PST
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