Most people give up just when they're about to achieve success.

Hear me, O children of the future, and let the wisdom of Ross Perot sink deep into your hearts, for he has spoken a truth as old as time itself. He said, "Most people give up just when they're about to achieve success. They quit on the one yard line. They give up at the last minute of the game one foot from a winning touchdown." These words carry within them the echoes of countless dreams lost in the final moments of pursuit, the hearts of the weary who, having fought so long, choose to abandon their journey just when victory is within reach.

In this simple but powerful statement, Perot speaks of the human tendency to falter in the final stretch. Success, the ultimate prize, often eludes those who are so close to it because their resolve weakens just as the finish line appears. How often have we seen the weary traveler, who has walked through the storm, turned back at the gates of the city they sought to enter? How many have fought valiantly only to stop when the victory was already in their grasp? Perseverance, the most vital of virtues, is the one most easily discarded in those final moments of doubt and weariness.

Let us take a lesson from Walt Disney, a man whose name is now synonymous with creativity and success. In his early days, Disney faced rejection after rejection. His first company failed. His ideas were dismissed as foolish. Yet, he did not turn away when the storm of adversity raged the hardest. He pressed on, and in the final moments of despair, when most would have given up, he succeeded. The dream that the world now knows as Disney was born not from early triumphs, but from the tenacity to push through the moments when all seemed lost. He, like many before him, was nearly defeated at the one yard line—yet he chose to continue.

Think also of Abraham Lincoln, a man whose life was marked by struggle and failure. Before he became the president who would lead his nation through its darkest hours, Lincoln suffered defeat after defeat. He lost elections, faced personal tragedy, and was rejected by the people he sought to serve. But in those final, most trying moments—when victory seemed impossible, when it seemed that he had reached the end of his journey—he pressed forward. He did not stop at the one-yard line, but moved forward, step by step, until his place in history was secured. Lincoln understood, as Perot has warned us, that success is often just beyond the point where others falter.

O children of the future, let this truth resonate with you: Success is a fleeting and elusive thing, always just beyond the grasp of those who falter too soon. It is easy to grow weary, easy to feel that the weight of the world is too much to bear. But remember this: the greatest victories are won in the final stretch, when most have turned back, when the road seems too difficult to continue. It is those who press on, even when all seems lost, who find their reward waiting for them at the end. The greatest achievements are not those that come without struggle, but those that come after the greatest trials have been overcome.

Consider the journey of Thomas Edison, whose famous invention of the electric light bulb came only after he failed thousands of times. Each failure, each obstacle, could have been the moment when he chose to quit. But Edison knew that success was often just beyond the point where others gave up. He did not stop at the one-yard line; instead, he continued to labor, to try, to fail, and to rise again. His strength lay not in being the most gifted, but in his unwavering resolve to keep moving forward, no matter the cost.

The lesson, O children, is clear: Do not allow the weight of doubt or the sting of failure to stop you in your tracks. Success is often a matter of holding on when all seems lost. When you are at the one-yard line, when the road seems too steep, when the end is not yet in sight, that is when you must press on with tenacity. Know that victory is often waiting for you just beyond the final stretch. The one who continues, the one who refuses to turn back, is the one who claims the prize.

And so, I leave you with this: when you find yourself on the verge of quitting, when the road feels too long and the end too far, remember the words of Ross Perot. Success is often found not in the moments of triumph, but in the moments just before, when you are ready to give up. Press forward, hold fast, and know that the victory you seek may be one step away. Keep moving, O children of the future, and you will find that success was always waiting for you at the last moment.