'When the going gets tough, the tough get going.

Success is about attitude, determination and persistence. If you want to be successful in any aspect of your life you need great support, a lot of luck and to work hard, be determined and be persistent. There will always be people who will tell you that things can't be any different, that you are wrong to search for better things and that what you are doing is impossible to achieve. They are wrong!

It is funny but the educational landscape has become more complex and fragmented with some colleagues and some schools thinking that autonomy provides the answer to the challenges we face. Too many teachers believe that the essence of our profession is autonomy. The essence of our profession is teamwork, communication, collaboration and learning what works and what doesn’t. 

Too many teachers think that if they had more time, resources and space they could make a difference. The last thing most teachers need is more....they need different! 

Experience and some incredible people have taught me that anything is possible if your attitude is right and if you are determined, persistent and prepared to work harder than anyone else. Persistence is the powerful force that keeps pushing you on when that little voice in your head is telling you to quit. Persistence is an intense desire to succeed. You either have it or you don’t but the good news is that persistence is a state of mind and you can develop persistence. 

We MUST re-invent and re-engineer our organisations and our systems …building on WHAT WORKS to eradicate the irrelevant, the second rate and the obsolete. This is above all the time to be more persistent than ever and for us all to step up because 'when the going gets tough, the tough get going.'