I put the title of this article in quotations because it is said in some circles that Winston Churchill once repeated those words 3 times (and only those words) in a speech he gave to a graduating class at Oxford University. Having read more than a half-dozen major biographies of Churchill, and never having seen the story documented in any of them, I cannot say the story is more than apocryphal. But while I cannot attest to its historicity, I can say such a story is in keeping with precisely the sort of thing Churchill would have said in such circumstances. Thus, whether factual or not, the story has the ring of truth, and thus, is worthy of taking seriously even if not historical.

The power of this “Never Give Up!” mantra is so real and so vast in its applicability.

Going back to Churchill – not his alleged graduation speech, but his entire approach to leadership during World War II, his “Never Give Up!” mentality enabled him to fight on relentlessly in the face of the seemingly unstoppable Nazi juggernaut led by Adolf Hitler. Thomas Edison employed the “Never Give Up!” mentality while enduring more than a thousand failed experiments before he hit on the right combination that resulted in the light bulb. J. K. Rowling received about a dozen rejection letters from various publishers before successfully landing a publishing deal for her first Harry Potter book.

In terms of everyday life and personal resilience, there are people who think in terms of “Never Give Up!” to overcome illness, injury, or other disabilities. Likewise, plenty of people have benefitted from this mental model in academic or career circles after failing an exam, losing a job, or experiencing a business failure.

In terms of mental and emotional persistence, most if not all of us have faced various difficult situations that wore us down, and only got through such situations due to perseverance, mental toughness and steely determination. And consider all the athletes or sports teams that overcame repeated defeats or injuries in order to shine (such as Michael Jordan, who many do not know was cut from his high school’s varsity basketball team during his sophomore year at Laney High School in Wilmington, North Carolina.)

I believe all of us can cultivate the habit of persistence in daily life by setting goals, acquiring accountability partners to keep us honest, and by learning to reframe “failure” as an opportunity to grow, to learn, to bounce back, and to keep charging ahead, albeit with wisdom and discipline. It’s certainly preferable to throwing in the towel prematurely.