Splitting the Stone
May 27, 2008 | by brett | Permalink
Working years are never a waste. As miserable and as wasteful as they may seem, those experiences are building up to something greater. The majority of emails I receive are from people 45 years and older who feel their working years have been a waste. My response, always, aims to reframe their mind.
While watching the 4-time NBA champion San Antonio Spurs during this glorious three day weekend, I was exposed to a philosophy that head coach Gregg Popovich uses as a mission statement for his players. Here is a summarized version in my own words:
“A sculptor had a large stone that he wanted split down the middle. He took a big swing with his hammer to meet the chisel with a vengeance, only to find the stone unaffected by his effort. He repeated the process a thousand times, only to achieve the same undesirable result. On the 1,001st time, the hammer swiftly met the chisel and the stone split perfectly into two equal halves. A bystander told the sculptor that he must have put some extra effort into the 1,001 st attempt. The sculptor replied, ‘I know it was not the 1,001st attempt that split the stone, but all the other times where I applied the same effort. That set me up for success.’”
The story symbolizes many of our lives. We spend our lives gathering puzzle pieces from different jobs, relationships, and experiences to get to that 1,001 st time. It doesn’t matter when the stone is split, as long as we don’t lose interest in it splitting.
Pursue the Passion presents interviews with people who have split their stones. A few ones that relate to this story include Darius Monsef IV, Billy Beane, Nicolaas Bloembergen.
« Previous: Making the Record Skip | Next: Access: Diamondbacked »
THERE IS ONE RESPONSE TO THIS INTERVIEW
Danielle Says:
May 28th, 2008
But what if 1,001 doesn’t come until you’re old and decrepit? I think that’s what scares me most.
RESPOND TO THIS INTERVIEW