“Diamonds are nothing more than chunks of coal that stuck to their jobs.”
–Malcolm Stevenson Forbes
This quote ought to speak volumes to someone who is hoping to accomplish something. How many of us begin a project (piece of art, piece of writing, a diet, a household fit-it project) and fail to finish it? Or drag our feet for months … even years?
I found this quote before I knew who Malcolm Stevenson Forbes was. That’s probably not something I’m supposed to admit, since he was apparently not only the collector of Fabergé Eggs, but since he ran a hugely successful magazine as well.
I could go on, but I think it’s pretty self explanatory. Whatever you want to do, stick to it, do your job, and see what beauty comes from it!
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Sometimes the truth is
Peter Atkinson said:
While chunks of coal eventually turn into beautiful diamonds through their being stuck under incredible pressure they never had a choice to wriggle to the surface.
While i think the idea is good i’d rather not compare myself and my projects to bits of coal stuck in a prison under unimaginable pressure forced to complete it’s job, and only found out decades later.
Instead i want to be full of life and to infuse my projects with that life treasuring that excitement that goes with such an undertaking. But as the project comes to an end maybe it is good to be a coal chuck, as i think most of us experience that wanting to abandon our project with something fresh and new. That said i prefer to leave the diamond for the end.
March 24, 2008 @ 2:46 pm
Edward said:
I don’t think the point is to be coal, so much as to emulate the “persistence” of the coal in its process in becoming diamond.
March 24, 2008 @ 4:53 pm
leafless said:
Persistence is good, but sometimes it can be a real nightmare. There aren’t many people like Malcolm Stevenson Forbes out there.
March 28, 2008 @ 9:01 pm
Edward said:
@ leafless: Ain’t that the truth!
March 28, 2008 @ 10:23 pm