After 959 failures she said, never give up

Never Give UpI love this lady.

Ms. Cha Sa-soon grew up one of seven children in a remote village 100 miles outside of Seoul, Korea.  Her father was a peasant who owned no land.  She spent her life working other people’s land, selling vegetables door to door and raising her four children.

She always dreamed of learning to drive, but her family and work kept her busy.  After her husband died and her children moved away, she found herself with more time on her hands. 

In 2005, she was closing in on her 60’s and decided to get her license.  She failed her first test and still left with a smile.  She tried again and again with the same result.  A failing grade and a smile.  

Her teacher, Ms. Park said, “She could read and write words phonetically but she could not understand most of the terminology, such as ‘regulations’ and ‘emergency light.

A decade later, on her 960th try, she scored a 60 on the test!  She finally passed.  

When she passed, Ms. Cha said, “I didn’t mind. To me, commuting every day to take the test was like going to school. I always missed school.”

Ms. Cha became a national hero in a country that values perseverance.

After she got her license, the Hundai-Kia group started asking people to post messages of congratulations.  When thousands of messages poured in, they gave her a car and an endorsement deal.  

Ms. Cha shows us a proven pathway to success that anyone can take. 

And one that I fully believe in.

  1. Show up every day
  2. Focus on the task at hand
  3. Never give up

Now you might not become a celebrity like Ms. Cha, but theses three simple actions can take you farther than you ever dreamed.  

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