Throughout my life I’ve been a big believer in the value of hard work—it’s one of three lessons I was taught from my youth. Everyone who takes an idea and makes it into something valuable does it through hard work. Tied very closely to hard word is perseverance, continuing forward without regard to discouragement, opposition or previous failure.

The downside to hard work and perseverance is they take time. Good things don’t (usually) happen overnight, or even within a month or a year. Creating value, and creating meaning in your life, take time: time to start, time to build, time to realize the results.

If we let it, the amount of time it takes to build ideas into successes can be discouraging. However, if we move forward with a positive attitude, work hard and keep going the successes will come. Slow starts can be challenging, but with perseverance they can be a tremendous blessing.

In a recent post about the hidden blessings in a slow start, Michael Hyatt said the following:

A slow start offers the time and testing it takes to build the right infrastructure for success. Without it our skills, resources, and character will all come up short eventually—usually sooner than expected and sometimes to disastrous results.

If you feel like you are stuck in a situation that you can’t easily overcome, keep at, keep going, persevere. As Dr. Paul likes to say, work makes things work. There is no substitute for good old fashion work.

The value in hard work and perseverance shows through in your personal growth, the growth you spark in others, and the things you eventually—sometimes over a long period of time—achieve. Don’t quit.

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The Product Management Perspective: I know there are times you feel overwhelmed as a product manager—I have been through it. The key to getting past those times is to keep at it, to persevere. Don’t give up on sound, proven product management practices. Your customers will thank you.