You’ve seen it. It’s everywhere. One guy is hacking away at the dirt, sweat dripping, look of pure agony on his face, turning around just inches away from a massive vein of gems. Meanwhile, the guy below him is whistling, swinging his pickaxe with joy, seconds away from a life-changing payday. The guy mining before hitting diamonds illustration has become the universal visual shorthand for "don't give up." But honestly? It’s a bit of a lie. Or at least, it’s a massive oversimplification of how success actually works in the real world.
The image originally surfaced years ago, often attributed to motivational speakers or early 2010s "hustle culture" blogs. It’s a classic piece of "success porn." It plays on our deepest fear: that we are currently doing the hard work, but we’re going to quit right before the breakthrough. We’re scared of being that top guy. We want to be the bottom guy. But the reality of persistence is way more nuanced than just swinging a tool until you hit a wall of glittery rocks.
The Psychology Behind the Guy Mining Before Hitting Diamonds
Why does this specific image trigger such a visceral reaction? It’s called the Sunk Cost Fallacy, but in reverse. Usually, we talk about sunk costs as a reason people stay in bad situations for too long. However, this meme exploits our fear of missing out on the payoff of our already invested effort.
It hits a nerve because humans are terrible at judging progress when they can’t see the finish line. In psychology, this relates to Variable Ratio Reinforcement. Think of a slot machine. You keep pulling the lever because you know a payout is coming, you just don't know when. The guy mining before hitting diamonds represents the ultimate "almost" moment. It suggests that the "big win" is a fixed point in space and time, and your only job is to not stop moving toward it.
But here is the thing: sometimes, there are no diamonds in that wall.
Expert poker players and professional gamblers often talk about "expected value." If you are mining in a mountain that has zero geological history of diamonds, you aren't being "persistent" by continuing to dig. You're being delusional. The meme doesn't show you the third guy—the one who realized he was digging in a salt mine and moved to a better location.
Does Persistence Actually Guarantee the Win?
Angela Duckworth, a psychologist at the University of Pennsylvania, wrote an entire book on this called Grit. She defines it as passion and perseverance for long-term goals. She argues that grit is a better predictor of success than IQ or talent.
But even Duckworth acknowledges that grit isn't just "blindly digging."
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It’s about "deliberate practice." If the guy mining before hitting diamonds was just swinging his pickaxe at the same angle for ten years without checking his surroundings, he might never hit anything. Success is more about the adjustment than the stamina.
Look at real-world examples.
James Dyson created 5,126 failed prototypes of his vacuum cleaner before he got it right. If he had stopped at 5,125, he’d be the guy in the meme. But he wasn't just digging the same hole; he was changing the design every single time. He was analyzing the "dirt" he was removing to see why it wasn't diamond-quality yet.
The Viral Life of a Motivational Graphic
This image didn't just stay in textbooks. It exploded on LinkedIn and Instagram.
It’s the ultimate "hustle culture" banner.
You’ll see it posted by "entrepreneurship" accounts with captions like "Tag someone who needs to see this!" It works because it’s a binary. You either quit and lose, or you keep going and win. It removes the messy middle where most of us actually live. It removes the doubt. It removes the very real possibility that you might be digging in the wrong direction entirely.
The meme is basically a Rorschach test for your current mental state. If you’re feeling burnt out, the top guy makes you feel guilty. If you’re feeling motivated, the bottom guy makes you feel like a hero-in-waiting.
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Why We Get Addicted to the "Almost There" Narrative
There is a neurochemical component to this. Our brains release dopamine not just when we achieve a goal, but when we anticipate achieving it. This is why the guy mining before hitting diamonds is so addictive to look at. We project ourselves into the bottom character. We feel that vicarious rush of "being close."
Actually, the "Top Guy" is often a more accurate representation of the human condition.
He’s tired. He’s probably broke. He’s been told by everyone else that there’s nothing in this mountain. Quitting, in many contexts, is a rational decision. If you've been working on a startup for five years and have zero revenue, the "diamond" might just be a mirage. The danger of the meme is that it shames the act of pivoting.
How to Tell if You’re "Mining" the Right Way
So, how do you know if you're the guy about to hit the jackpot or the guy just wasting his life in a dark tunnel? Experts in strategic management often suggest a "Stop-Loss" strategy.
- Set Measurable Milestones: Don't just say "I'm going to find diamonds." Say "I will dig 50 feet, and if I don't see carbon traces, I'm re-evaluating."
- Seek External Audits: The guy in the meme is alone. That's his first mistake. If he had a geologist (a mentor or a consultant), they could tell him, "Hey, the rock density is changing, you're getting close."
- Analyze the Tailings: Look at what you're throwing away. Are you learning? Is the "dirt" you're removing teaching you something new about the industry?
Silicon Valley loves the phrase "Fail Fast." It’s the antithesis of this meme. Instead of digging one deep, agonizing hole for decades, the "Fail Fast" mentality suggests digging ten shallow holes to see which one has the most promise.
The Hidden Danger of the Meme
There’s a dark side to this "never quit" imagery. It contributes to burnout.
When you see the guy mining before hitting diamonds, the message is: "If you're tired, it's because you're almost there." But sometimes, if you're tired, it's just because you're exhausted and need a break. In the real world, the "diamonds" aren't always worth the mental health cost of the "mining."
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Seth Godin wrote a great little book called The Dip. He argues that winners quit all the time—they just quit the right things at the right time. He says you should quit the stuff where you don't have the potential to be the best in the world, so you can focus your energy on the "dip" that actually matters.
The guy in the top of the meme isn't necessarily a failure. Maybe he’s quitting that hole so he can go start a much more successful mining company using the data he gathered.
Practical Steps for Your Own "Mining" Operation
If you feel like you’re in that tunnel right now, stop looking at the meme for a second and look at your data.
- Check your "Geology": Is there evidence that others have found success in this exact path recently? Not twenty years ago, but now.
- Audit your "Tools": Are you using the same blunt pickaxe (skillset) you started with? If you aren't upgrading your skills, the diamonds will stay out of reach even if you're inches away.
- Define your "Quit Point": Before you start your next "dig," decide exactly what would make you stop. This prevents the emotional trap of the meme from keeping you stuck in a dead-end project.
- Value the "Dirt": Realize that the experience you gain while digging—the "dirt"—is often more valuable than the "diamonds" themselves. Even if you "quit" before hitting the jackpot, you walk away with the muscles and the knowledge of how to dig better next time.
The reality of the guy mining before hitting diamonds is that the wall isn't made of rock; it's made of uncertainty. You can't see through it. No one can. The goal isn't just to keep swinging until your arms fall off—it's to swing smarter, bring a headlamp, and maybe bring a friend who knows how to read a map.
Don't let a cartoon convince you that quitting is always a tragedy. Sometimes, it's the smartest move you'll ever make. Focus on the process, adjust your trajectory based on real-world feedback, and ensure that the "mountain" you've chosen is actually capable of producing what you're looking for. Persistence is a tool, not a suicide pact.
The next time you see that image on your feed, remember that it only shows two options. In real life, there’s a whole world outside that tunnel. If you decide to put the pickaxe down, make sure it’s because you’ve found a better place to dig, not just because you’re tired.
Identify the specific "signals" in your industry that indicate progress. In sales, it's a higher conversion rate, not just more calls. In fitness, it's heart rate recovery, not just sweat. Find your signals. Follow them. And if the signals go dead, have the courage to walk out of the tunnel and find a new mountain. That is how real diamonds are found.