Bill Bramschreiber, Past President
The Voice Newsletter June 2024

I spent a marvelous long weekend in early April in Phoenix, enjoying a long overdue NCAA Final Four appearance by my beloved Purdue University Men’s Basketball Team. Throughout their history Purdue has been very successful in men’s basketball in the regular season. They have won the most Big 10 Championships, including 4 of the last 7. Unfortunately, they have not had recent success in the NCAA Tournament, including the horror of losing as a #1 seed to a #16 seed last year. Something that had only happened once before in March Madness history.

Purdue was able to make it all the way to the championship game this year. Where they did lose to the better team; the U Conn Huskies, who had been the best team in the country all year. Purdue head coach Matt Painter believes that his team was able to achieve their success this year by not running from adversity. That the same players were able to face the failure from last year, use the pain as motivation, and make the necessary adjustments.

The habit of positive thinking and persistence has always appealed to me.

Many world leaders have shared this belief;

• “There is no failure except in no longer trying.” – Theodore Roosevelt.
• “Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm.” – Winston Churchill.
• “Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.” – Gandhi
• “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t, you’re right.” – Henry Ford.
• “I have failed over and over in my life. And that is why I succeed.” – Michael Jordan.
• “Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men 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.” – Calvin Coolidge.

A friend gave me a copy of the book The Power of Persistence by John Martin last year. I keep it in my office as a resource to pick up at any point in the day, to give myself a boost of confidence and a reminder to push myself a little bit longer. Some of my go to thoughts in this book are;

• Many of us quit because we are too focused on the results that never seem to happen soon enough – instead of staying the course and becoming the type of person who never quits.
• Create a clear image in your mind of what it is that you want to achieve.
• Quitting is not an option. Quitting has often been called the only true failure in life.
• Persistence is a way of thinking.
• Tenacity is more valuable than talent.
• Your feelings are not your fate.
• Organization helps concentration.
• Staying focused is a manifestation of persistence.
• If you don’t have confidence in yourself, no one else will either.
• Use pain and failure as motivation.
• Strengthen your belief in yourself.
• Live with gratitude and accountability.

I hope that everyone will stay positive and persistent. Please join us at our next ASCC event; the Concrete Executive Leadership Forum (CELF), at The Lodge at Spruce Peak in Stowe, Vermont, on July 18 to 21, 2024.