Here’s a story of a Sri Lankan cricketer.

He made his debut in test cricket for Sri Lanka just after his 20th birthday in November, 1990. He scored a duck in his first innings. And duck again, in his second innings.

They dropped him.

So he went back to the nets for more practice. More first-class cricket. Waiting for that elusive call.

And after 21 months, he got a second chance.

This time, he tried harder.

His scores: 0 in the first innings, 1 in the second.

Dropped again.

He went back to the grind. And scored tonnes of runs in first-class cricket.

17 months later, opportunity knocked yet again.

He got to bat in both innings of the Test

His scores: 0 and 0.

Damn!!!

Would the selectors ever give him another chance?

They said he lacked big-match temperament.

But he kept trying.

Three years later, he got another chance.

This time, he made runs.

He came good.

Seven years after his debut, in his 10th match against India, he scored his first century. 

In an illustrious career thereafter, Marvan Attapattu went on to score over 5000 runs for Sri Lanka. That included sixteen centuries and six double hundreds.

And he went on to captain his country. All this despite taking over six years to score his second run in Test cricket.

If you are in sales/business, perseverance and persistence is the key. There will be trials and tribulations. You will be grinded, tested, twisted until you become formidable. To create success that lasts.