I love watching The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch on CNBC. I always record it on my DVR and watch it while I’m feeding my son. The other night, we watched an episode where Donnie interviewed Barry Sternlicht, the Chairman and CEO of Starwood Capital Group. This is a $15 Billion company that owns hotels and resorts worldwide (Westin, Sheraton, Le Meridien).

Basically, his future was changed by a fortune he got in a fortune cookie that said, “Perseverance is genius in disguise.”

Persevere is defined by Merriam-Webster as, “to persist in a state, enterprise, or undertaking in spite of counterinfluences, opposition, or discouragement.”

Mr. Sternlicht stated that he felt he was a good student but not a great student. He was a good athlete but not a great athlete. But he felt like if he dedicated himself to something, and persevered, he could outlast the competition that may have been “great.” He continued and said that when you get “kicked” in life, you need to just get up and keep on going. Mr. Sternlicht told the story of when he was fired from a great job, where he was somewhat of a “wonder-kid” when he was 29 years old and he had to stand in the unemployment line to collect benefits. Then, he was able to work his way into the hotel business and change things from the inside out and eventually take over a $15 Billion company.

When is a time that you were kicked, but you got up and kept going. I know this is corny, but when I was a junior in high school, I was a back-up wide receiver on the football team. I was the epitome of slow, and one of the shortest receivers on the team. One Friday night in a close game the offensive coordinator grabbed me and started whispering the play into my ear. Then, something made him look down. He saw that it was me, pushed me back and grabbed another receiver. Talk about feeling like crap.

The rest of that season, I vowed that I would continue to work hard on my strength, speed and technique so I wouldn’t get pushed away again. I played a little bit my junior year, but worked extremely hard during the off-season before my senior year. I came out stronger and faster than before. I understood what my position was supposed to do in the grand scheme of Mauldin football. I wasn’t going to be a Jerry Rice or Randy Moss; I was really a glorified offensive lineman because our team had two outstanding running backs and that is what we did…run the football.

My senior year, I started every game. I played nearly every offensive down and won a team award at the end of the season.

I was encouraged by this interview and thought about a verse of scripture that went along with this fortune: Hebrews 12: 1-2:

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

When we have been kicked, we need to persevere. It is hard to get up sometimes, but when we keep our eyes on the prize, that is Jesus Christ, we can push through the difficult times; we can get up and keep running the race.