These are not the easiest of times. So many anchors of security in our lives seem to be disrupted. At times like these people tend to react in one of two ways: (1) throw the covers over your head, or (2) dig in, do the hard work and show a little grit.
With the highest inflation we’ve seen in 40 years, on top of rising interest rates, supply chain disruptions, COVID resurgence and the Russia-Ukraine crisis potentially erupting into World War III, it’s easy to lose faith in the world and stop pursuing your lifelong goals.
DON’T!
In her best-selling book Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance, Angela Duckworth studied a wide range of composers, doctors spelling, bee champions, West Point cadets, business leaders and other high achievers to see what made the truly elite performers rise to the top. Her findings revealed that talent and IQ are not guarantees of success. She found that grit—a combination of passion and perseverance for a singularly important goal—is something that high achievers have in common, no matter what their domain.
Many of you on this distribution list are high achievers, but not everyone around you is. At times like these, you can’t let yourself be lulled into complacency or pessimism. You have to rise up, set a good example, and motivate others around you to punch above their weight. That’s what leaders to.
As the NCAA men’s basketball tournament heads toward its final weekend, four storied programs (Kansas, Villanova, Duke and North Carolina) kept their goal of making it to The Final Four in focus despite all the injuries, unpredictable upsets and Cinderella stories around them that dominate the headlines. They’re all good, solid teams, with outstanding coaches and 18 national titles between them. But 2022 was not supposed to be their year. They lost a combined 28 games heading into the tournament, and had numerous injuries, lots of self-doubts and rosters full of inexperienced, unproven players. What they had in common, however, was the ability to block out all the noise and distractions of “March Madness” and play their best basketball of the season when the games counted the most.
As Duckworth maintains in her research: “Gritty people {and organizations] are able to maintain their determination and motivation over long periods despite experiences with failure and adversity.”
St. Peter’s University, a small commuter school (2,500 undergrads) showed remarkable grit, too, in making it all the way to the Elite Eight. It was the furthest a #15 seed had ever made it in the history of the March Madness tournament as the scrappy, undersized Peacocks, upset #2 seed Kentucky (31,000 enrollment), #7 seed Murray State (11,000 students) and #3 Purdue (41,000 students) before falling to North Carolina (29,000).
Musky grit
Elon Musk, billionaire founder of PayPal, Tesla, SpaceX/Starlink and several other companies is on pace to become the world’s first trillionaire, but his path to success has not been easy. Here are just some of his high-visibility failures:
- 1995: Unsuccessfully applied for a job at Netscape.
- 1996: Ousted as CEO of his own company, ZIP2.
- 1999: First PayPal product voted one of the worst business ideas.
- 1999: Crashed his brand-new McLaren F1, worth a million dollars.
- 2000: Ousted from PayPal during his honeymoon.
- 2001: Russians refused to sell him rockets to send mice or plants to Mars.
- 2002: Russians turned him down again in founding of SpaceX.
- 2006: First SpaceX rocket launch — and his first explosion.
- 2007: Second rocket launch and second explosion.
- 2008: Third rocket launch and third failure; this time with NASA satellites onboard.
- 2008: Tesla and SpaceX on the brink of bankruptcy.
- 2013: First rocket failure.
- 2014: Tesla Model S had more than one case of spontaneous battery explosion.
- 2015: Fourth rocket explosion at launch.
- 2016: Tesla Model X production delayed by 18 months.
- 2016: Fifth rocket explosion.
Musk likes to say: “when something is important enough, even if the odds are against you, you should still do it.” Does this sound like a guy who gives up easily?
People with grit are more likely to pick themselves up from failure, analyze what needs to change, and improve. Musk has proven not only to have mastered this by turning a dismal third launch failure into success for the Falcon 1 rocket just 6 weeks later. This takes grit. He also tells reminds his workers constantly: ”Failure is an option here. If things are not failing, you are not innovating enough.”
The people of Ukraine have certainly embodied grit. For the past six weeks, the Ukrainians have stunned the world with their courage and tenacity. Seemingly overmatched by every measure of conventional warfare, manpower, resources, technology and nuclear capability, they have not only held off the Russian invasion of their major cities, but in some instances, have reclaimed territory. And they’ve preserved despite dwindling food, electricity and medical care and without direct military aid from NATO or any of the world’s other superpowers. No one knows for sure how long the Blue and Yellow’s remarkable resistance can hold out, but when history books are re-written years from now about how far a modest-size nation with the right mindset can go against seemingly insurmountable odds. As Musk likes to say: “It’s possible for ordinary people to choose to be extraordinary.” So can you.
I know inflation and $4.50 per gallon at the gas pump sucks. You can blame the Administration, or you can try to conserve your fuel by linking errands, carpooling, driving 5 mph slower, taking a bike for short trips and looking into electric, hybrid or more fuel-efficient vehicles. That’s gritty, too.
Conclusion
My college track coach used to tell us: “Anyone can run fast when they’re feeling good. Our program is about running fast when you’re feeling like crap and your ass falls off in the middle of the race.” By that he meant you can throw in the towel, or you can “go back, put your ass back on and get back in the race and score some points for your team.”
As boxing champion Muhammad Ali once said: “Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they’ve been given than to explore the power they have to change it.”
I don’t know about you, but I’ll put my money on any basketball team (our country) in a blue uniform.
Don’t agree? Tell me why.
Here’s how you can support the people of Ukraine
#Grit, #perserverance
