---
title: The 99 that went before
published: 2017-08-02T00:00:00.000Z
author: shivekkhurana
tags: poetry, motivation, life-lessons
heroImg: https://shivekkhurana.com/img/content/posts/99-before.png
url: https://shivekkhurana.com/blog/the-99-that-went-before
---


Walking warrior on a hill  
Saw a shimmer and stood still  
It was a sword stuck in a rock  
With the label,  
Only the most persistent shall take and walk

Warrior, motivated, filled with hope,  
took a stone to break the rock  
1 shot 2 shots 3 shots four  
His muscles weren't sore

By the 99th he was down  
Gave up hope, glitter in his sparkling eyes, lost  
Dropped the stone started walking ahead  
Took a step and to himself he said

Just one more shot, let me try  
Blew the rock, the hundredth time, he cried  
Roars and rumble came down to earth,  
The rock had broken, lighting, thunder bursts

He held the sword, happy and high  
and all the way knowing … it wasn't the hundredth shot,  
that made him win this great war  
But the 99 that went before

---

Inspired by ["The Stonecutter"](https://www.zenpencils.com/comic/stonecutter/) by Zen Pencils; Original quote by [Jacob A. Riis](https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/jacob_riis_107072)