Have you ever heard of the quote, “I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once. But I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.”

You might recognize the quote from the late Bruce Lee.

What Lee is trying to say is that there’s power behind repetition. Trying multiple things at once or going from job to job might be fulfilling for a little while, but it’s when you hone your focus down to one thing that you truly begin to see unstoppable power.

What Lee said actually reminds me of another story that’s quite similar:

Thousands of years ago, there was a man walking through a village on the way to the market when he saw a stonecutter hammering away at a large rock.

The first strike did nothing.

The second strike did nothing.

The tenth, twentieth, and fiftieth strikes looked as though they all did nothing.

The man just continued to stand there in a mockingly way. Assuming the stonecutter would never split the rock in half.

Finally, on the hundredth blow, the rock split in two.

The man watching stood there in disbelief and said,” That last blow finally did it.”

The stonecutter turned around and saw the man watching him. Unaware he had an audience. He then shook his head and said, “No. Every blow mattered.”

Just like Lee, the stonecutter did the same thing. Over and over again. Even though it might’ve looked repetitive and meaningless to others. It eventually led to extraordinary results.

I realize you might not be practicing Kung Fu or splitting rocks open. But even a small habit every day done over and over again will eventually pay off in the end.

It might seem miniscule or pointless. But it’s that part of the journey that weeds out the week. And eventually, keep those that were willing to master it until the end.

Until next time,
Isaiah Taylor

Dive Deeper

What I’m Currently Reading - I’m still in the middle of rereading Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. A philosophical oriented guide to life written by one of the greatest Emperors of Rome.

Quote Of The Week - “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” — Aristotle