Being persistent or simply, just stubborn?

Persistence, often named as one of the key to success and are always tagged with famous people, including big names such as Thomas Edison, Alexander The Great and many more.
While stubbornness, on the other hand, only leads you to mistakes and failures most of the time.
But, just what made the difference between these two words?
Before we go into something so serious, here's one story to share, and which many of you will find it familiar too.

     The Boy and the Starfish

A man was walking along a deserted beach at sunset.

As he walked he could see a young boy in the distance, as he drew nearer he noticed that the boy kept bending down, picking something up and throwing it into the water.

Time and again he kept hurling things into the ocean.

As the man approached even closer, he was able to see that the boy was picking up starfish that had been washed up on the beach and, one at a time he was throwing them back into the water.

The man asked the boy what he was doing, the boy replied,"I am throwing these washed up starfish back into the ocean, or else they will die through lack of oxygen.

"But", said the man, "You can't possibly save them all, there are thousands on this beach, and this must be happening on hundreds of beaches along the coast.

You can't possibly make a difference.

"The boy smiled, bent down and picked up another starfish, and as he threw it back into the sea, he replied.

"I made a huge difference to that one!"

-Author Unknown.

Now, let's not go into how inspiring this story is, but instead look at it from another angle.
So talking about the boy in the story, was he being persistent or plainly, just stubborn?
Tough call, but there won't be any right or wrong answers.
Funny as it may seems, but here's why.
If thousands of people decided to join him in his cause, which i believe that the you who's reading this right now would love to be part of them, and in turn creating a fairytale like ending whereby all the starfishes were saved.
He would, be a boy whose persistence save all the starfishes.
But then again, he would be named the stubborn boy who refuses to give up after hearing what the adult has got to say, if he's still doing what he is doing at that time, alone.
Same story, different ending. and it would change the way you look at it, seems interesting, isn't it?

So, what actually made the difference between these two words?
Success, unfortunately, is one of the key factors.
Same goes to Thomas Edison, what if none of his inventions worked?
What if Alexander The Great lost one of his seemingly impossible battle and caused the downfall of his kingdom?
They would also, be categorised under "stubborn boys who refused to give up".

The transition from stubbornness to persistence, is mainly determined by success.
The only thing that drew the line between being stubborn and being persistent is again determined by the society.
As definition of success itself, is also determined by the majority.
Which means to say,
stubborness today might just be tomorrow's persistence.
Just imagine that you're a friend of Thomas Edison before his invention ever worked, or a soldier under Alexander The Great before he established his kingdom.
Did Thomas Edison look stubborn when he refused to give up even after thousands of experiments?
Did Alexander The Great look stubborn when he decided not to retreat despite the fact that he was outnumbered?

I'm sure Thomas Edison was mocked at, being treated like a stubborn fool before he was acknowledged as who he is in our modern days.
I'm sure Alexander The Great's ability on the battlefield was questioned and doubted before he established his kingdom.
Personally, being stubborn or persistent, they all mean the same thing to me.
it only mean fighting till the end without giving up.
And if you happen to be attempting to make drastic changes to your initial doings just to avoid being called stubborn or mocked at, think again.
If deep inside, you truly feel that the things you choose to hold on to is with the right intention and for the right reason.
May i please ask of you to hold on to that little piece of stubbornness for a little longer, and just think.

How could the world have change, by the changes you are about to make?

Lastly, i truly appreciate the time taken to read this article.

Signing off,
Sleepy Spidey. (: