When you are trying to get something done, and you come upon a barrier of some sort, do you stop? Or do you find away around it? KEEP GOING. Get around it, or over it, or through it, or whatever it takes. Overcome obstacles. It is my contention that the most successful people are, in part, simply the ones who are more determined to get around barriers than the rest of us.

This is something I’ve been thinking about of late, as I’ve seen a certain internal project hit a wall.

Then yesterday, I was out for a 20-mile bike ride, and about five miles in, I hit a wall. Literally. OK, I didn’t HIT it, exactly, I came upon it…a wall of construction vehicles and torn-up concrete at the entrance to my usual path. So, I got off the bike and looked around. I walked down the gutted street a ways, to see if there was another entrance. Nope, couldn’t see one. So I walked back to the entrance and eventually realized that there was a little spot where I could get OVER the wreckage. And I did. Then, on the way back, I discovered that there actually is a new entrance to the path – a whole new SECTION of path, in fact, that I just didn’t see because I zoomed right on past without looking. I finished the ride, when it would have been easy for me to just say “forget it” and turn towards home.

I see people in business do just that from time to time. And I’m sure I do it myself sometimes. Hit a barrier of some sort – so-and-so not responding to an inquiry, or someone not wanting to help with something – and…just…stop. That’s no way to live, and no way to work successfully, IMHO.

Someone who embodies the ability to keep going is my longtime friend Tom Martin , who did some consulting with Jigsaw a few years back when we were new to the social media world. Tom lost his agency in Hurricane Katrina, and has now rebuilt an even better life for himself and his family. His inspiring story is here on the 365. The thing I love most about Tom is his never-say-die attitude. Tom’s now traveling the world doing social media speaking and training, and trying to get Stephen Colbert as a guest on his Talking With Tom video series.

Keep going. Find a way. Aim high.

What do you think? Do you ever hit a wall in a project and stop? How do you get around it?