“When nothing seems to help, I go look at a stonecutter hammering away at his rock perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the hundred and first blow it will split in two, and I know it was not that blow that did it, but all that had gone before.”
—Jacob Riis
I learned about rock pounding from Rob Wicall, who used to be the San Antonio Spurs Mascot, the energetic and engaging coyote that ran around the court during games entertaining the crowd. He told us that “Pound the Rock” was a guiding principle for the Spurs. Ask any Spurs player what it is all about to be a member of that team, and they will all tell you:
POUND THE ROCK!
They pound the rock day after day. They get 1% better every day. They know that failure is the road to success, so they fail bigger and bigger until that last blow yields a championship.
Maybe we’re not trying to be world champions at anything. We can still pound the rock of our mindsets and habits. Changing ourselves from the inside might be harder than splitting a rock.
We look at successful people with envy as if they were born that way. We don’t see how many times they pounded their rock before they achieved that success. We’re not even aware that they’re still pounding the rock.
Why would we continue to pound the rock when it appears that nothing is happening? We have to really want the rock to split, and we must believe that one day the rock will split.
I’m pounding my rock as I write this post. I’ve given up so many times because nobody reads what I write, or I’m not getting the feedback I think I deserve. I convince myself that I can’t do it. I have to keep strengthening my desire to be a good writer and keep writing even if nobody reads my post. The next one might open some doors.
What rock are you pounding? The next blow might be the one that transforms everything for you.
I put my comments on Facebook: Some witty words from my Whitty friend. It takes more than one blow to split a rock. More than one call for me to make an appointment. More than one painting to make a collection worthy of hanging. For every painting that hangs in my studio, there are several more that are on the floor in a corner or in a sketchbook no one will ever see. I've heard it said, "Never give up," but there is more to success than not giving up. It is beginning with the end in mind. Knowing that each step, each stroke, each attempt, even if it fails, will eventually produce something worthy of showing. I don't stop, because I know what I will eventually produce. In my job, I reach out by email, text and phone every day, each hour - rejection after rejection until I find someone willing to talk, willing to meet, and willing to join our company. I'm going to quit thinking, "never give up" and start thinking, "Pound the rock." Thanks, Pat!