We attain freedom as we let go of whatever does not reflect our magnificence- Alan Cohen
I have seen a lot of people selling formulas and 12 step plans that promise success and riches. I have to be honest, I am not a fan and I just don’t believe in them. I think success for organizations and for individuals comes from consistent hard work and calculated risk taking. You play the short and long game every day.
You write when you don’t want to.
You run when you don’t feel like it.
You have the difficult conversation when it needs to happen.
You get up every day and make the next call, close the next project, take the next phone call.
Because if it was easy we would all be Steve Jobs, or Oprah.
We would all wake up tomorrow to start the next Microsoft or be the next Seth Godin.
Why do some people turn into the next champion while others don’t? They stay in the game. They continue to play. They show up.
Magnificence can’t be bought on the internet for $149.99 or revealed in 6 easy steps.
Magnificence is born from grit and perseverance.
What is grit?
The dictionary says it is a noun: firmness of character; indomitable spirit; pluck
Grit comes from within, and none of us are stopped from building this attribute and growing our grit muscle.
No one is.
We have media and society that will tell you in subtle and not so subtle ways that you can’t do something.
Any of the following feel or sound familiar?
- Girls don’t study THAT.
- Our kind don’t ski or snow or surf.
- We have never entered that field, or market before
- You are from THIS neighborhood and we just don’t do those types of things.
- We don’t play to THAT type of music.
- You are not smart enough to do that kind of work.
- You are too old. You are too young.
- You are not the right sex or the right color or the right ethnicity·
- You did not attend the right school or get the right degree.
- Your organization has never done anything like that before.
- That stage is too big.
Over the next few blog post I will discuss the essential foundation work to help increase grit in your life or organizations. I will be discussing things like the importance of collaboration and flexibility, humility and persistence.
Before we explore those I want to say one thing that I think is essential before we dig in–I want you to think about what is truly important for you.
Truly. Important.
What are you willing to go to the mat for? What battle are you willing to stand and fight for? What are you willing not to compromise on—not today, not tomorrow, not ever?
Because, great life changing work demands that we be willing to fight for it.