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In order to succeed in business or in life in general, you will definitely need to know effective methods.

Without them you don’t really have much of a chance.

But you will also need to possess certain unseen or “invisible” qualities.

Today I want to focus on just one of those almost invisible qualities.

The Stone Cutter’s Secret

In a Reader’s Digest issue, Jacob Riis just hinted at the invisible quality that I want to talk to you about today. See if you can tell what this invisible quality is from what he said…

“I look at a stone cutter hammering away at a rock a hundred times without so much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the 101st blow it splits in two. I know it was not the one blow that did it, but all that had gone before.”

Persistence is the invisible quality you need to possess, if you want to see success in business or life.

You need persistence to enable you to push through during these hard times.  You need it in order to see that “breakthrough” that only comes from the 101st hit.

Paul Harvey said that if there is one common denominator of men (and women) whom the world calls successful it is this: They get up when they fall down.

They don’t give up!  They keep on, keeping on!  They push on and push through.

Do you have this quality?

Don’t Mistake Stubbornness for Persistence

Persistence is not the same as stubbornness or denseness.  I hope you realize that there’s no need pressing on when you’ve come to a dead end.

We all definitely need to know when it’s the right time to quit.

But the reality is that most people quit way too soon.

Many people give up at the first sign of trouble or resistance.

If you do that, you’ll never see a breakthrough.

How to Conquer Resistance

If you want to conquer resistance you must use persistence!

Do you have it? Are you willing to push on in a tough situation?

Because success and greatness are discovered only by those who possess the invisible quality of persistence.

George Bernard Shaw alluded to this need for persistence when he said, “Grain by grain – a loaf; stone upon stone – a palace.”

It is only persistent, consistent forward-moving steps, that allow us to reach any worthwhile goal or end result.

This is the invisible quality you need to possess in order to succeed in any endeavor.

How We Normally Handle Difficulty and Resistance

I know this isn’t new advice, but I think it’s important to hear it again. Why?

Because I think when things get difficult, too many of us are still too tempted to give up completely.

Or worse yet, we’re tempted to give up hope of ever seeing a breakthrough, but we just keep going through the motions. (Breakthroughs never come to those who are just going through the motions.)

Another way that people handle difficulty is by obsessing over finding some “magic” method is going to bring them the success they desire.

Like I said at the beginning of this post, effective methods are really important.

But many of us get sidetracked and delayed by spending too much trying to find the “missing ingredient,” when many times we already know all we need to do.

What’s our only real option?

We just need to remember the “Stone Cutter’s Secret” and keep pounding away at the boulder in front of us. 

That’s the only way it will ever finally break in two.