???? The most successful entrepreneurs possess True Grit
As I mentioned a few articles ago, entrepreneurship is about the long haul. It is going to take time.
This journey requires a thick skin, focus, creative thinking and the resilience to take the road less traveled.
True Grit.
If you aren’t a John Wayne fan, I’m sure you’ve seen Jeff Bridges as the legendary “Rooster” Cogburn. It is the story of strength and unrelenting spirit in the face of all adversity.
That’s the truest essence of what entrepreneurship is about.
- Persistence and perseverance despite fear and the unknown.
- A determined appreciation, or rather understanding of each step of the journey
- An unwavering commitment to your goals
“GRIT is your capacity to dig deep, do whatever it takes — especially suffer, sacrifice, struggle, and stumble — in order to achieve your most worthy goals.“- Andy Miller, CEO of Big Swift Kick
It’s deeper than skills or your societal circumstances, true grit is what truly sets you apart. The motivation you find when nothing else is there to show you it’s worth it. Anyone can work hard when they’re motivated, it’s quite easy.
The difference between the most successful people and everyone else is that successful people go to work everyday regardless of how they’re feeling.
The guy that gets punched over and over, knocked out, shot a few times for measure, left for dead. Bruised, broken and bleeding that same guy gets back up, limps to redemption and somehow triumphs.
Against all odds.
We love those movies right? I mean who didn’t tear up watching Rudy?
My father refers to it as “hanging-in-there-ness.”
It’s about overcoming setbacks without becoming discouraged or losing steam.
The amazing thing is that beyond my personal feelings and Papa John’s creative wisdom; true grit is actually a proven measure success!
“Grit is the tendency to sustain interest in and effort toward very long-term goals. [It] equips individuals to pursue especially challenging aims over years and even decades.” — Dr. Angela Lee Duckworth
Dr. Duckworth, psychology professor at the University of Pennsylvania determined that grit has better predictability for ultimate success than IQ. You can actually take UPenn’s grit assessment and calculate your grit score on a scale of 1 (not gritty) to 5 (extremely gritty.) Check out her amazing Ted Talk
Through studying individuals in various social contexts, like CEO’s , teachers, WestPoint graduates and sales teams, Dr. Duckworth found that the true measure of success was not social intelligence, family income, good lucks, physical health or IQ.
To be like the most successful people in the world it has been proven that it doesn’t matter how smart or clever you are. Success is not quantified solely by being born with a gift or talent or by any special circumstances regarding your social standing.
Success is instead, directly correlated to effort.
What truly matters is your ability to find that special motivation within to simply last and bear through the difficult and uncertain times. It’s the ability to view failure as a temporary condition and bounce back up. The reality is very few people are actually willing or able to do that.
When it really comes down to it how able will you be to get back up after a knock down? Simply put, those that develop “hanging-in-there-ness” are more likely to achieve.
