True Grit
That's the essence of Grit by Angela Duckworth (click here to read or listen to the full summary.)
By studying the world’s top performers in many different domains, Duckworth found that high achievers were special in two specific ways. First, they were unusually resilient and hardworking. Second, they knew in a very deep way what they wanted. The had determination and direction.
Almost all of the Readitfor.me members I've had the pleasure of meeting in real life share these two traits. But I'm betting there are two or three other people in your life who could benefit from hearing this message (like your direct reports, your children...)
Here's a quote from the summary:
Will Smith, the Grammy Award-winning musician and Oscar-nominated actor, agrees. He doesn’t consider himself as particularly talented. Where he excels, he believes, is in his “ridiculous, sickening work ethic.”
Here’s how he describes his ascent into the entertainment stratosphere:
“The only thing that I see that is distinctly different about me is: I’m not afraid to die on a treadmill. I will not be outworked, period. You might have more talent than me, you might be smarter than me, you might be sexier than me. You might be all of those things. You got it on me in nine categories. But if we get on the treadmill together, there’s two things: You’re getting off first, or I’m going to die. It’s really that simple.”
Duckworth concludes that many of us quit what we start far too often and far too early. Even more important than the effort that gritty people put in on a single day is the fact that they get up the next day, and the day after that, ready to get on the treadmill and keep going.
I hope you'll get this message to somebody who needs to hear it today.
Read or listen to the summary now.
2 things before you go:
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