Some thirty odd years ago, my parents, with some serious vision and tenacity and grit (no pun intended) built house from dirt.
Brains are good, but tenacity is irreplaceable.
It's a groove of solidarity and tenacity, as serious as it is danceable.
Many of Test cricket's cussed opening batsmen could be easily identified in a dressing room: the intensity and obsession of Geoffrey Boycott, the serious intent of Gary Kirsten, the weather-beaten tenacity of John Wright.
Ms. Mankiller was admired for her tenacity, having fought off two serious diseases, lymphoma and a neuromuscular disorder called myasthenia gravis; recovered from kidney failure that would have killed her had not an older brother given her one of his kidneys; and survived a head-on automobile collision in 1979 that forced her to endure 17 operations and years of physical therapy.
Her determination and tenacity served her well following a serious stroke 13 years ago - I was amazed to hear that she was riding again.
Deborah Coles, co-director of the campaigning group Inquest, which has worked with Gareth's family for the past three years, says it is a scandal that such serious failings came to light only through Pam Wilton's tenacity.
Ren Kapur, X-Forces CEO, says: "The barriers [to starting a business] may be even more serious amongst the wounded, injured and sick, yet the spirit and tenacity to succeed is perhaps even greater".
What Hollywood film-makers failed to grasp, though, was that while audiences wanted their superheroes treated with Nolan's verve and tenacity, that didn't necessarily mean throwing everything through a super-serious "dark" filter.
Their ages show that the road to serious wealth, often through more traditional industries, can be a long one, but that patience and tenacity pay off.
And, at home, the Christian Democrats' party-finance scandal has, for the time being, virtually removed a serious opposition from sight.But the cigar-smoking chancellor, with his ever-ready salesman's grin, has shown tenacity, courage and skill.
