Persistence - A Short Play

PERSISTENCE SPEECH

NARRATOR: Afternoon, folks, and welcome to the 20^th episode of Growing Your Growth Mindset. Recap on last week. Can someone in our wonderful audience tell us what we looked at last week?

AUDIENCE: Last week, we discussed how failing is just a part of life, how if you’re too cautious then you’re not living life or learning from life. If you are too cautious and you do not fail at anything, then you automatically fail anyway. Failing at something is not failing... it is learning. Learning is all about having a growth mindset. Having a growth mindset is about acknowledging the fact that intelligence can be improved.

NARRATOR: Excellent! Great job! Tonight, we have brought five famous figures that have changed the face of our world into our show. They’re going to be telling us about their lives and how persistence fitted into their amazing achievements. May I introduce... Albert Einstein, the smartest man in history... Dr Theodor Seuss, one of the most celebrated poets ever... Thomas Edison, the creator of the light bulb and... J.K. Rowling, the author of the much celebrated Harry Potter books.

All famous people wave from their seat.

AUDIENCE: clearly expresses their excitement.

NARRATOR: But first, we have one of the most celebrated creators of movie films in the world, possibly the most. He was a man with the imagination the size of an elephant. Walt Disney used persistence in his life countless times. Didn’t you, Mr Disney?

WALT DISNEY: Oh, yes, I used a lot of persistence. I mean, you have to, if you want to achieve something great! I experienced bankruptcy, which means I lost most of my money, after I made several attempts to start a business. How embarrassing! I even got fired from a newspaper for not being imaginative enough! I mean, honestly! I am the key figure in children’s imagination these days! You’d think they’d show a little more respect! Anyway, I kept on using persistence, opening doors to amazing opportunities. Eventually I became the famous Walt Disney, creator of Disney Pictures. It was all thanks to persistence.

NARRATOR: Thank you for that incredible insight into your persisting life, Mr Disney.

WALT DISNEY: My absolute pleasure. Remember, all our dreams come true, if we have the courage to pursue them. If you can dream it, you can do it.

NARRATOR: Thank you, Mr Disney. Moving on, now. This man changed the face of modern physics. He is regarded the smartest man in history. Please welcome Mr Albert Einstein.

ALBERT EINSTEIN: Thank you, Mr/Miss (Narrator). Yes, it’s true. I am Albert Einstein and it took A LOT of persistence to get to where I am standing today. I was born in a middle-class Jewish family. I was thought to be mentally disadvantaged at school, as my brain was far more advanced in the time I was living in. In other words, people thought I was silly and dumb, because my theories were too complex for them to understand. Then, I won the Nobel prize and changed the face of modern physics, so...

NARRATOR: Thank you for joining us with your brilliant brain, Mr Einstein.

ALBERT EINSTEIN: Thank you for having me. I am not smart... I just stay with problems longer.

NARRATOR: Thank you. Our next guest is the author of the Lorax and Green Eggs and Ham. Kids love this guy! Please welcome Dr Theodor Seuss!

DR SEUSS: Thank you. I am so pleased to be here! Anyway, moving on. I used a lot of persistence to bring joy to everyone throughout poetry. My first book was rejected by 27 publishers until it was published. But, I did not give up! I kept on trying until I found someone who liked my book.

NARRATOR: Thank you, Dr Seuss. I hope to find more people with your incredible imagination!

DR SEUSS: And will you succeed? Yes, indeed! Yes, indeed! Don’t give up! I believe in you all! A person’s a person, no matter how small!

NARRATOR: Thank you for your inspiring words of wisdom! This next man created the light bulb. It literally changed the face of our Earth. It separates the Third World from the Second World. It has reduced the crime rates in the city. Please welcome Thomas Edison.

THOMAS EDISON: Thank you oh so very much. So, let’s see. Persistence. Ah, yes. Rather lacking in the time I was alive in. Yes, persistence really helped me find out a prototype for the light bulb that actually worked! I have never failed. I have only found 1 000 ways that do not work.

NARRATOR: Thank you, Mr Edison. May people follow in your footsteps.

THOMAS EDISON: Remember, many of life’s failures are people who were close to success and gave up. Never, ever, ever give up!

NARRATOR: Thank you, Mr Edison. Last but definitely not least, we have the author of the Harry Potter books, one of the most celebrated books of all time. Her story starts as a severely depressed, broke single mum. Please welcome, Joanne K. Rowling!

J.K.ROWLING: Thank you, (NARRATOR). As you stated before, I did start out as a single mum, broke and really sad in rainy England. I took persistence to the next level. You would not get to where I am standing here today, as one of the richest women on Earth, without a lot of persistence. I wrote the Sorcerer’s stone, the first book in the series, in a café shop! I persisted to keep on writing the other books until I had completed the whole story of Harry Potter, the Boy who Lived. In the words of T.F. Hodge, the sky is not the limit... I am.

NARRATOR: Thank you, Joanne.

J.K.ROWLING: Remember, it is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well have not lived at all, in which case, you fail by default.

NARRATOR: Thank you, Ms Rowling. Well, folks, if there’s one thing you picked up from today’s episode, it’s that, without a whole lot of persistence, you will not get anywhere in your journey towards success! Strong hope is the path to success. Persistence is the vehicle in which you get there. If you want to be successful like our stars on the stage, be persistent and don’t dwell on the failures and mistakes you have made. In the words of Barack Obama, if you run, you stand a chance of losing, but if you don’t run, you’ve already lost. Thank you, folks! I’ll see you next week!

AUDIENCE: clap enthusiastically.