Where the inspirational figure is selected for us, and the gap between their life and ours is too great, the effect is not one of encouragement but of disillusionment - especially if their story is told in terms of personal qualities like bravery or persistence.

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Security vendors like to blame these breaches on Advanced Persistence Threats or targeted attacks.

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Apart from the persistence of good (or bad) performance from one Olympiad to the next, the dismal scientists hopped, skipped and jumped to two other statistically significant results.

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Gone are the days when a charismatic and persistent salesperson could close a deal based on personality alone, or a combination of personality, persistence, and the general demographic drift of a publication.

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The only thing that can be counted on is the persistence of power, whether on Wall Street or in Washington.

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Careers take persistence and determination, especially at the outset or during transitions.

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The key to changing things, however, is persistence by the media, whether it is mainstream media or by internet writers.

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It is important to consider that many funds may have liquidated or merged during a period of study and these funds should be factored into measurements of persistence.

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The reason has been the persistence of easterly winds from a frozen Continent - winds which have chilled the North Sea to just 4C or 5C.

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