Leaders Have Grit

Many think grit and perseverance are the same thing.
They’re not. You can persevere through physical pain because you must.
Yet the endurance of grit is founded in purpose.
Purpose is clarity. Purpose is choice.

What exactly is grit; and is it important?

I submit that it’s vital in today’s world; and yet in a quick-fix, instant gratification society, we find it severely lacking.

One person commits suicide approximately every 16 minutes
in the United States. We don’t so much have an economic or
energy or environmental crisis. We have a crisis of meaning!

Grit is founded in many qualities that all affect your leadership and abilities. These qualities also affect your value and experience of life and fulfillment. Please make no mistake, true leadership is about living a fulfilling life.

True leadership is about achieving and getting results.
But more importantly, it’s about living a fulfilling life.
Success without fulfillment is no success at all.

checkbox with checks with woman on the back

Qualities like stamina, endurance, perseverance, energy and many others are all qualities of grit. Yet while all these are critical to leadership and success, I submit there are even deeper and more fundamental psychological factors that are at cause.

Many speak of hustle and grind.
But hustle and grind without the fundamentals,
are nothing more than pure misery.

silhouette of man running with suitcase

In this new series I’ll pull from many sources: Angela Duckworth from the University of Pennsylvania, Carol Dweck from Stanford, Bill Damon from Stanford, Martin Seligman the father of Positive Psychology, as well as my own nearly 4 decades of coaching, consulting; and nearly 3 decades as an entrepreneur, to give you tools for developing greater levels of grit.

The objective is to allow you to lead your life and business more fully and productively; and hopefully enjoy the process.

How To Become Productive

Most importantly enjoy the process.

For what is life after all but a fast-moving adventure that’s over much more quickly than any of us would like.

Your purpose is to find your purpose;
and then to give your entire life, energy, and complete self to it.

The 6 Ground Rules of Grit, that my own nearly 4 decades of personal experience, practice, consulting, and research show are:

  1. Love (much more than just attraction, fantasy or infatuation.) 
  2. Commitment to Mastery
  3. Purpose 
  4. Mental Toughness and Emotional Strength
  5. Optimism 
  6. A Growth Mindset

I know some of these things may be categorized in today’s business world as “soft.” 

Particularly things like love and purpose for those who pride themselves in being “hardcore”.

I know those who typically speak of grind, hustle and grit may think some of these things irrelevant…

But with all due respect, they’re wrong. Seriously wrong.

In most cases what we tend to deem
as “soft skills” are actually the hardest hitting
and most high impact skills of all.

two hands doing handshake

In the following series of blogs, we’ll dive deeply into each of these 6 Ground Rules. How they’re defined. What comprises them; and how to develop them for your own life and business.

As a kickstart ask yourself: 

  1. What do I really love? 
  2. What does real love mean to me? 
  3. Is love a noun or a verb?
  4. What does that mean?
  5. Do I have a realistic view of what it means to love?
  6. Do I really? 
  7. I mean really?

 

Be a Leader. Live Your Purpose; and Take Your Power Back!

James