As a new enterprise just beginning to probe the psychology of success, I took the time to talk to some of the leaders in business; athletics, art, medicine, journalism, and law: Who are the people at the very top of there field? What are they really like? What do they really think makes them so special? More than one business person mentioned that they had an appetite for taking financial risks.
However, this seemed entirely beside the point for artists, who instead mentioned a drive to create: “I like making stuff all the time. I don’t know why, but I do.” In contrast, athletes mentioned a different kind of motivation, one drives by the thrill of victory: “Winner’s love to go head-to-head with other people. True winners hate losing.” No matter what the field may be. The most successful people were lucky and talented. I’d heard all of that before, and I never really doubted it.
But, ladies and gentlemen, the story of success didn’t end there. Many of the people I talked with could also recount tales of rising stars who, to everyone’s surprise, drop out or lost interest before they could realize there real potential. Apparently, it was critically important and not at all easy to keep going no matter what, after failure: A lot of people are great when things are going really well, but they fall apart when things are not going well. High achievers described in these interviews really stuck it out refusing to give up:
This one guy, he wasn’t actually the very best writer at the beginning. I mean, we used to read his stories and have a big laugh because the writing was so, well you know, off the wall, clumsy and melodramatic. However, he got better and better, last year this guy won a Guggenheim. And they were constantly driven to improve: She is never satisfied, my God, you think she would be by now, but she’s her own worst critic. The highly accomplished were Paragons of perseverance in the biggest possible way.
But why were the highly accomplished so dogged in there pursuit? For most, there was no realistic expectation of ever catching up to there ambitions. It was like wild horses dragging them away, in there own eyes, they were never ever good enough. And yet, in a very real sense, they were satisfied being unsatisfied. Each was chasing something of unparalleled interests and importance, and it was the chase as much as the capture that was gratifying. Even if some of the things they had to do were extremely boring, or frustrating, or even painful, they wouldn’t dream of ever giving up. Their burning passion, was enduring to say the least.
In sum, no matter the domain, the highly successful had a kind of ferocious determination that played out in two different ways. First there exemplars were unusually resilient and hard-working. Second, they knew in a very deep way what it was that they really wanted. They did not only have determination, they also had direction.
It was this combination of having a burning passion and perseverance that made high Achievers special. In a word, they had grit. For me, the question became: How do you measure something so intangible? I sit down in front of my desk, looking over some of my interview notes. And I begin writing questions that captured, sometimes verbatim, descriptions of what it means to have grit. Half of my questions were about perseverance. They asked how much you agree with statements like “I have overcome setbacks to conquer an important challenge” and “I finish whatever I begin.”
The other half of the questions were about passion. They asked whether your “interests change from year to year” and the extent to which you have been obsessed with a certain idea or project for a short time but later lost interest.” What emerged was the grit scale-a test, something that my partner Alan and I had read about, consisting of eight to twelve questions, that, when taken honestly, will measure the extent to which you approach life with grit.
The separation of grit and talent emerged in a study that my partner Allen ran on Ivy League undergraduates. Their SAT scores and Grit were in fact, inversely correlated. Students in that select sample who had higher SAT scores were, on average just a little less gritty than there peers. Putting together this finding with the other data I’d collected, I came to a fundamental insight that would guide some of my future work: Our potential is one thing, however, what we do with it is definitely quite another.
Whether we realize it or not, my dear friends, the culture in which we live, and with which we identify, powerfully shapes just about every aspect of our life. As its core, a culture is defined by the shared norms and values of a group of people. In the long run, culture has the power to shape our entire destiny. Over time and under the right circumstances, the norms and values of the group to which we belong becomes our own.
Identity influence every aspect of our individual character, however, it has special relevance to grit. Often, the critical gritty-or-not decisions we make-to get up one more time; and stick it out through this miserable, exhausting summer; to run ten miles with our teammates when on our own we might only run four-are a matter of identity more than anything else.
In our quest, to really understand what gives rise to Grit, I’ve encountered a few organizations with especially gritty leaders at the helm who, in my personal view have successfully forged a culture of grit. Let us consider for example, Jamie Dimon, who had been the CEO of JP Morgan Chase, the absolute largest bank in the United States, for more than a decade. Jamie isn’t the only one of the bank’s 250,000-plus employees who says, “I wear this jersey and I bleed this blood.”
In the 2008 financial crisis, Jamie steered his bank to safety, and JP Morgan Chase somehow turning a $5 billion profit. Coincidentally, the motto of Jamie’s Prep School Alma mater, the Browning School, is grytte, an Old English version of grit defined in an 1897 yearbook as “firmness, courage, determination…” “you have to learn to get over those bumps in the road and mistakes and the setbacks,” Jamie told my partner when he called to talk about the culture that he’s build at JP Morgan Chase. Failures are going to happen, and how you actually deal with them may just be the most important thing in whether you will succeed. You need to take responsibility. You call it grit, I call it fortitude.”
The very first football game that I had ever watch from beginning to end was Super Bowl XLVIII. The game took place on February 2nd 2014, and pitted the Seattle Seahawks against the Denver Broncos. The Seahawks won, that game 43 to 8. The next day after the victory, the Seahawks head coach Peter Carroll was interviewed by a former member of the San Francisco 49ers, who asked him: What is that philosophy, what does it mean to be a Seahawk? Pete chuckle Softly. I’m not going to give it all to you, but I will tell you that we are looking for great competitors.
That’s really where it starts. And that’s the guys that really have Grit. The mindset, that they are always going to succeed, no matter what, that they’ve got something to prove. They are resilient, they are not going to let any setbacks hold them back. They are not going to be deterred, you know, by challenges and hurdles and things, you see my friends it’s that attitude- we-really refer to as Grit.
Two years after that wonderful Super Bowl, my partner got on a plane to Seattle. He had told me that he wanted to see first-hand what Peter meant when he said the Seahawks were building the grittiest culture in the NFL. Making it to the championship game in successive years is notoriously very hard, however, the Seahawks had Define the odds and made it to the Superbowl again that year. In sharp contrast to the prior year’s win, which Seattle fans celebrated with a blue and green ticket-tape parade that was the largest public gathering in Seattle’s history, this year’s loss resulted in howling, a lot of weeping and the gnashing of angry teeth-over what sports commentators deemed the worse call in NFL history.
Okay, here’s a recap: with only 26 seconds on the clock, the Seahawks have possession of the ball and are only one yard away from a game-winning touchdown. Everyone expects Pete to call a running plate-the Seahawks have Marshawn Lynch, widely agree to be the single best running back in the entire NFL. Instead, the Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson throws a pass, the ball is intercepted, and the New England Patriots took home the trophy.
What really interested my partner when he arrived in Seattle was Pete’s reaction and that of the entire team. My partner and I wanted to know how a culture of grit continues not just in the after-growth of success, but in the aftermath of failure. We both wanted to know how Pete and the Seahawks found the courage to continue. He had told my partner that it was not just one thing, it’s a million things, it’s a million details. The most obvious is language. One of Pete’s coaches once said, I speak fluent Carroll. And to speak Carroll is to speak fluent Seahawk: Always and always, compete. You’re either competing or you’re not. Compete in everything you do. You’re a Seahawk 24/7, finish strong. Positive self-talk. Team-first.
Everybody that he met peppered there sentences with those Carrollisms. “Compete,” he was told, it is not about triumphing over others, a notion I’ve always been uneasy about. Compete means excellence. Compete comes from the Latin,” explained Mike Gervais, the competitive surfer-turned-Sports-psychologist who is one of Pete’s partners in culture building. Quite literally, it means strive together. It really doesn’t have anything in its origins about another person or group losing.
Mike told my partner that two key factors promote excellence in all individuals and in teams deep and Rich support & Relentless challenges to improve for this professional football team: deep and rich support and relentless challenge to improve. For this professional football team, it’s not about defeating other teams, it’s about pushing and pushing beyond what you can do today, breaking down that wall of doubt, so that tomorrow you are just a little bit better, it’s all about excellence.
After one of the meetings, an assistant coach caught up to my partner Allen in the hallway and said, I don’t really know if anyone’s mentioned finishing to you. One thing we really believe in here is the idea of always finishing strong. Then he gave my partner an example: Seahawks finishing a game strong, playing there hearts out to the last second on that clock. Seahawks finish the season strong. Seahawks finish every drill extremely strong. For the Seahawks, finishing doesn’t literally mean finishing. Finishing strong memes consistently focusing and doing your very best at every moment, from the very start to the finish.
At the end of that day, my partner was in the lobby waiting for a taxi. Pete was there with him making sure that he got off OK. Then my partner realize he hadn’t asked him directly how he and the Seahawks found the courage to continue after he’d made the worst call in his career. Pete later told sport Illustrated that it wasn’t the worst decision, it was the worst possible outcome. He explained that like every other negative experience, and every other positive one, it always becomes part of you. I am not going to ignore it. I’m going to face it, and when it bubbles up, I’m going to just think about it and get on with it. And use it, and use it.
My friends, the best investment that you can ever make in life is an investment in yourself. You must have the courage to believe in you, to believe in your dreams, to have the courage to follow your heart. Yes you will more than likely experience some failures however, you must build a burning desire, a burning passion in what you are doing so you will have the Inner strength to not give up. To take action and push forward with all of your mind heart and spirit, all that you need is already within you.
May Prosperity be always with you.
Humbly yours Paul Earl.
www.Beautiflworid.com
As always, leave us a comment below- especially if you have any questions for us!
Paul, I am always interested in discussions about success, determination, perseverance, and grit. I am both a businesswoman and a musician. The businesswoman part of me has taken risks that has everyone gasping. But it is this ability to be comfortable with risks that has enabled me to create and keep pushing to my creative goals because in the back of my mind “What is the worst that can happen?”. I find the quality missing in my fellow creatives is that of zeal. they have great ideas, even great plans but just never seem to be able to complete projects. Thanks for some good discussion.
Good evening JJ, thank you so much for visiting weightlifting for a beautiful world. I understand exactly what you have said, I have had many friends and business associates who have had outstanding ideas but didn’t have, ( and I hate using this terminology to describe it) but they did not have the guts to believe in their selves, and without the belief in you or what you’re doing you a>re already dead in the water. I also have took many of risk and ideas and Creations, that I have come up with, many have failed however, many has been successful. And the ones that have failed gave me value. As I preach there’s value in failure. Once again thank you for visiting us, and if it’s anything at all that we can do for you by all means reach out to us. May prosperity and good health be always with you, humbly yours Paul Earl.
Thank you so much for sharing with us a beautiful article. That is the main content of the article Grit The power of passion perseverance and your success. Many people believe that talent is the primary reason people become successful. But the truth is: Successful people meet their goals because their passion helps them persevere. Triple Your Success With This Thing Called “Grit”
Grit is the characteristic that allows successful people to overcome their challenges and even see obstacles as opportunities. Make no doubt: Grit is great. It’s a lucid, informative, and entertaining review of the research Angela has assiduously conducted over the past decade or so. The book also includes suggestions on how to develop grit, and how we can help support grit in others.
Good eveningas MD. Asraful Islam, you are absolutely correct. I’m going to give you a little inside information, please keep it to yourself. The name Allen for my partner was not his real name, I’ll let you figure out who it really is. I will say this, I used to follow my partner in everything that he did, learning all that I could. We still communicate a lot, he’s always been my idol. And you are correct in all that you have stated, without a doubt. Thank you so very much for visiting weightlifting for a beautiful world, and if it’s anything at all that we can ever do for you by all means reach out. May prosperity and good health be always with you. Humbly yours, Paul Earl.
Nice post. I feel inspired to persevere. Alot of time I have trouble starting stuff and today was one of those days. I am glad that I came across your post to remind me of grit and competition. So what are some stratgies to make yourself feel inspired when you dont feel like doing anything? I would lokve to hear some tips.
good evening Eric, and thank you for visiting weight lifting for a beautiful world. I am so happy that My article gave you inspiration, this is all that my team and I want. What do I do to give me inspiration? I have pictures on the wall of my family on the right of my desk, my family is my why. On the left I have pictures of great business men and women, and great musicians all who came from nothing to climb the ladder to the top. This is what gives me the inspiration to always believe in myself and what I am doing. Once again I thank you for visiting us, and if it’s anything at all that we can ever do for you please reach out to us. May prosperity and good health be always with you. Humbly yours Paul Earl.
First of all thank you so much for sharing such an excellent article with us. Your article is really informative and I gained a lot of knowledge by reading your article which is very helpful to me .I have been working in the online world for a long time and through good performances I have been able to achieve success and it has grit passion for me. I have to have strong confidence as well as work hard to achieve success .As well as the right direction was definitely needed .I think we should develop our own talents by imitating someone .My burning passion and perseverance have helped me a lot to succeed in the present .
Lastly, I hope that by reading your articles, everyone will gain important knowledge and will share their success with you. Can I share your article on my social media?
Good evening Shanta Rahman, my team and I thank you for visiting weightlifter beautiful world. I can tell by your words that you indeed have the passion that is necessary to succeed. I also can feel that you 100% believe in yourself and believe in what you’re doing, and there is no doubt in me that you will always be successful in anything that you put your mind and hard to do. I commend you for all the hard work that you have done so far. I have had my ups and downs, I have made decent money on the internet and I have made only pennies on the internet however, I have helped so many people to not give up and that alone makes me successful in what I’m doing. I have never lost that burning desire and I never will and I know and believe with all my heart at the end of the day I too will be on top of that mountain of total success. Once again, thank you for visiting us and by all means please share the article and if it’s anything at all that my team and I can do for you please reach out to us. May prosperity and good health be always with you. Humbly yours, Paul Earl.
First of all, thank you so much for sharing such a beautiful and informative article with us. I was looking for an article like this.
No matter how talented you are in this life, you must, perseverance in life. I am always interested in reading discussions about success, determination, perseverance. Because reading these can bring a little encouragement to myself so that I can focus on my business and work diligently. Even though I know about perseverance, I still have a lot to learn after the article. But I am unfamiliar with the word grit used in this article. By writing about grit in your next article, how do you do it? Looking forward to the next article.
I must say that this article is very helpful and informative. I want to share this article on my social media and I think if I share your article on my social media everyone will know about it 😊
Good evening Shamiimbd, thank you for visiting weight lifting for a beautiful world. I to read a lot of articles throughout my life that has helped me in my music career, my personal training career, and my marketing career. I also have found inspiration in that manner, to answer your question about Grit, what it really is my friend, is attitude, having the attitude deep down inside of you that says I believe in me. I believe in what I’m doing, and I 1000% refuse to give up. I will succeed no matter what, when you feel this way the burning desire becomes a explosion of inspiration. Once again thank you for visiting us, and yes you may share it and if it’s anything at all that my team and I can ever do for you please reach out to us. May prosperity and good health be always with you. Humbly yours Paul Earl.
Hi Paul! Thanks for putting the Seahawks experience as an example. I resound with it! Oh, man I remember that moment when the pass was intercepted and I still remember Pete chewing gum looking up at the camera. Oh, I was yelling! I remember jumping up and down. I’m sorry but up to this day I can’t believe the call! Ah, sorry I think I got too upset remembering what happen that day and writing this comment.
How do we deal with an experience like this in our personal lives? I believe the solution is not to water it down as unimportant but to learn to grow from it. Is there a risk of viewing negative outcomes in which we had the decision in our hands lightly to avoid cracking down (and thus not learning from them)?
Good evening Abel, good to see you again my friend. Don’t be sorry, every time I think of that game my whole body just gets tense, so I understand completely, and I won’t say here in writing what I think about the play. You are absolutely correct my friend, we must use all our positive and our negative experiences as a learning experience to help us create the outcome that we so desire. As I have said many of times failure has value. I think you so much for visiting us once again, and as always my dear friend if it’s anything that my team and I can do for you, just give a shout. May prosperity and good health be always with you. Humbly yours, Paul Earl.
Thank you so much for sharing with us a beautiful article. The businesswoman part of me has taken risks that has everyone gasping. But it is this ability to be comfortable with risks that has enabled me to create and keep pushing to my creative goals because in the back of my mind What is the worst that can happen? The book also includes suggestions on how to develop grit, and how we can help support grit in others.
Good evening Bai Asha, thank you for visiting weight lifting for a beautiful world, and you are correct we must take risk. If we want to be successful, yes sometimes we will fail however, as I have said over and over failure has value. Use that failure to your benefit, learn from it, the worst that can happen is you start over again and make it work. If not you go back to the drawing board and pull out that creativity. I’m extremely familiar with the book, once again thank you for your kind words and thank you for visiting us. If it’s anything at all that we can ever do for you please reach out to us. May Prosperity be always with you. Humbly yours, Paul Earl.
finding a good article does not come by easily so i must commend your effort in creating such a beautiful website and bringing up an article to help others with good information like this. such a touching story. i am glad i could get real insight from this article.thank you very much for this
Good evening Benny, thank you so very much for your beautiful kind words, and for visiting weightlifting for a beautiful world. When my team and I receive comments as you have given us, it lets us know we are doing our job, and that feels mighty good. We thank you once again for visiting us and if it’s anything at all that we can ever do for you please, please reach out to us. May prosperity and good health be always with you. Humbly yours, Paul Earl.
Hello, Thanks for the nice post. really this post is informative as well as educative. The main content of your article is the SUCCESS-GRIT-PASSION-PERSEVERANCE. I am a businessman. I’ve learned a lot by reading your article. I really enjoyed the post.
Success, grit, passion, and perseverance all are the great human quality. How people can make him more think about perseverance? How people can concentrate more on their passion?
I hope you will always be beside us by writing beautiful and educational articles. I appreciate your article. I will share your article on my social media. Thanks for the info.
Good evening Tashibaarzu,we thank you for visiting weight lifting for a beautiful world, we also thank you for your beautiful kind words. It means a lot to us, it lets us know that we’re doing our job. And you are correct in all that you have said. It is all about attitude, that’s what the Grit is, having that burning desire to achieve your dream and refusing to ever give up, and willing to take a risk if it needs to be taking. Once again, thank you for visiting us and if it’s anything that we can do for you please give us a shout. May prosperity and good health be always with you. Humbly yours, Paul Earl.
this is a great and amazing article. thanks creating time to get this article done and written for everyone to have a clearer view on. i have learnt the main content of the article Grit The power of passion perseverance and your success. Grit is definitely the best characteristic that allows successful people to overcome their challenges. thanks sharing this article once more mate.
Good evening my dear friend, thank you for your very kind words, and for visiting us here at weightlifting for Beautiful World. Grit is basically attitude, the attitude to never give up, the attitude that you do whatever is necessary to accomplish your dreams or goals without harming someone else. To face any challenge with your head up believing in your heart that you will overcome it. These are the characteristics of a winner, having Grit. Once again, thank you for visiting us, and if it’s anything at all that we ever can do for you please reach out to us. May prosperity and good health be always with you. Humbly yours call Earl.