I couldn’t believe it.
You may have seen the meme going around about Josh Allen, star quarterback for the Buffalo Bills.
He’s had a phenomenal 2024-25 season, was a finalist for the National Football League’s MVP, and has led his team to the AFC Championship game on Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Zero
Yet after high school, Josh Allen had ZERO scholarship offers.
After one year of JUCO, he sent the following email to over 1,000 college coaches.
Hello coach, my name is Josh Allen and I am a quarterback at Reedley JC out of California. I stand at 6’ 5” 210 lbs and am a full qualifier, and feel like I would be great fit in your offensive scheme! Please have a look at my hudl
https://www.hudl.com/athlete/4291509/highlights/181802376
Please get back to me at any convenience!
Thank you!
He received one offer from Wyoming.
Allen was a late bloomer to be sure, but nothing about his eventual success was guaranteed.
Yes, he had remarkable physical talent. And clearly, he believed in himself when no one else did. But there are countless athletes like that whose names we have never heard.
The Difference
What made the difference? Persistence. Josh was unwilling to take no for an answer. He kept taking steps toward his dream regardless of the obstacles.
This is the single common denominator of all successful people in all fields. It has nothing to do with education, upbringing, money, breaks, talent, intelligence, creativity, or any of the factors that we usually attribute to people who succeed.
Study after study show the only common factor necessary to succeed in one’s chosen field is persistence.
Conviction
Great people are just ordinary people who don’t know how to quit. They exude this end-in-mind conviction that regardless of the obstacles, the goal will be achieved. The Biblical writer, Paul, was a master at this. He said,
…but this one thing I do; forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 3:13-14 (NRSV)
Press On
Where is God calling you to press on today? Yes, there are unexpected obstacles. No, not everybody believes you can do it.
But the greater question is what do you believe? Is this something God has called and gifted you to do?
If so, do not be distracted by the obstacles or the naysayers. They are not meant to have the final word. If need be, silence the little voice in your head that says you are not enough. It’s a lie.
You don’t have to accomplish your God-given goal today, this week, or even this year. Today, you need only to take a step in the right direction. Maybe send an email. Tomorrow will bring another step.
It’s persistence that turns a dream into reality. So, press on.
The world is waiting for the dream God is birthing through you.
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Roger Ross
A native of Cambridge, Illinois, Roger has served as a pastor in Texas, the British Channel Island of Guernsey, and Illinois. While in Illinois, he led teams that planted two new churches and served for 10 years as the lead pastor of one of the largest United Methodist Churches in the Midwest. It was his privilege to serve as the Director of Congregational Excellence in the Missouri Conference before coming into his current role with Spiritual Leadership, Inc (SLI).
Roger now comes alongside pastors, non-profit leaders and their leadership teams as an executive coach, specializing in leadership that inspires change. As a side gig, he loves teaching evangelism and church planting as an adjunct professor at SMU’s Perkins School of Theology in Dallas, Texas.
Other passions of his include SCUBA diving in warm blue water, Krispy Kremes, and board games with family and friends. He also has a weakness for golf.
Roger is the author of three books, Meet The Goodpeople: Wesley’s 7 Ways to Share Faith, Come Back: Returning to the Life You Were Made For, and Come Back Participant Guide, all through Abingdon Press.
Now for the best part. Roger is married to Leanne Klein Ross, and they live Bloomington, Illinois. God has blessed them with two adult children, a son-in-law, several tropical fish, and one adorable granddog.
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