Jayla Jackson

Ms Jenkins

EBA honors English 10

14 May 2019

Determination

Many want to know the what traits of leaders lead to success. In order to be an effective

leader, one must be determined. Determination inspires creativity, innovation, critical thinking,

and problem solving.

In the story Siddhartha The main protagonist goes through a long journey full of

obstacles to find inner peace. Siddhartha’s resilience proves being strong willed is necessary for

success because had Siddhartha given up in the face of challenging obstacles, he would have

never achieve true peace. When Siddhartha tried a new approach at finding inner peace, he lost

himself in the process (Hermann 91). This leads him to try to drown himself in a river. What

stopped him was his determination that he was reminded of while drowning. He remembered

what his whole journey was for (Hermann 93). His determination to live and reach his goal saved

him from the miserable death that Siddhartha could have subjected himself to. Because of that

determination, Siddhartha managed to find absolute peace despite the many failures he had

endured previously.

Another example of determination in the business world includes the success of an

entrepreneur named Sam Walton. He created Walmart. His journey to success was not without

its challenges and his ability to overcome said challenges is exactly what made him a successful

businessman. During the planning phase, Sam had trouble getting people to work with him

because opening a supermarket in a rural area was unheard of. However, this didn’t stop him and
Sam Walton went on to create the biggest supermarket chain all on his own. A leader doesn’t

have to stop being determined enough to not give up after success because the challenges never

stop. Another example relating to Sam Walton is when his landlord wanted to buy the property

from him for her son. Sam didn’t have any intentions on selling his store, and so the landlord

completely refused to renew his lease. (Isaza 1)Having received a fresh taste of failure, Sam

decided pay extra close attention to leasing contracts for now on and to move store

locations.(Isaza 2)

Blake Mycoskie’s Start something that matters talks about many of the challenges he

faces when starting his company TOMS. For example, when Blake started his business he lacked

money and resources. Because of this his business was being run in his apartment with a bunch

of interns for the first couple of months after launch (Mycoskie 7).Had he been any less

determined he might have just relied on an offer presented to him previously regarding a stable

job with good pay. If this had taken place then the shoe company would never have existed as we

know it, over 60 million children would be without shoes, and Blake Mycoskie would be less

successful and happy. His determination to donate shoes to children in need allowed him to

create a relatively new way to run a business a one for one “buy one give one”.

If one isn’t determined they will never achieve success. They will crumble under pressure

and fail to overcome obstacles if they don’t want to reach their goal bad enough. All of the

people previously mentioned all exist and suffered failure after failure and only reached success

because of their strong determination to do so.

 Works cited

Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “Sam Walton.” Encyclopædia Britannica,

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 10 Apr. 2019, www.britannica.com/biography/Sam-

Walton.

Hesse, Hermann. Siddhartha. Arcturus, 2019.

Isaza, Marcela, and Leanne Italie. “60 Million Pairs of Shoes and 10 Years Later: Toms Shoes

Founder Reflects.” The Seattle Times, The Seattle Times Company, 13 May 2016,

www.seattletimes.com/life/fashion/60-million-pairs-of-shoes-and-10-years-later-toms-

shoes-founder-reflects.

Mycoskie, Blake. Start Something That Matters. Virgin, 2012.

“Sam Walton.” Entrepreneur, 9 Oct. 2008, www.entrepreneur.com/article/197560.