persistence and perseverance

Several times I heard the words: persistence and perseverance without knowing the meaning. I just checked it through the internet, first beginning with the word ‘perseverance’. The dictionary.reference.com gave me this meaning:

- steady persistence in a course of action, a purpose, a state, etc. esp. in spite of difficulties, obstacles or discouragement. So it leads me into finding the meaning of ‘persistence’. Well, again the internet gives me this: – the action or fact of persisting

- the quality or state of being persistent.

I can say that this still makes me unsatisfied. Further searching, I get the meaning of ‘persistent’:

- existing for a long or longer than usual time or continuously as:

a. retained beyond the usual period

b. continuing without change in function or structure

c. effective in the open for an appreciable time usually through slow volatilizing

d. degraded only slowly by the environment

e. remaining infective for a relatively long time in a vector after an initial period of incubation.

Don’t you think those two words have a wonderful meaning? The attitude described by those words have to be own by someone willing to survive and success in this world.