At Hiebing, we believe that everyone has the power to be a leader. It takes strength, resilience and determination – it takes … grit. In this month’s agency book club, we reviewed “Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance” by Angela Duckworth. Duckworth offers invaluable insights into the remarkable blend of passion and perseverance that enables individuals to rise above obstacles and achieve their goals.  
 
If you’re determined to pick up a copy and head to your favorite reading spot, you can purchase your own copy here. If not, here are three key takeaways from our team. 

 
It’s Not Just Talent, It’s Grit 
The secret to outstanding achievement is not talent but grit: a special blend of passion and perseverance. While talent may provide a head start, effort matters. A leader’s ability to drive beyond expectations and motivate themselves, and by extension their teams, to practice, fail and try again is the key to success. Talent may be the spark, but grit feeds the flames by taking talent from just talent and turning it into a skill. 

 
Effort + Grit = Success 
Grit is about having passion and persistence for long-term goals. Setting smaller subsects of goals in service of one larger, overarching one can serve as a compass to make sure you’re on the right path to success. Goals naturally come with disappointment and obstacles, but a person with grit will give themselves permission to fail at something one day and give it a try again the next – repeatedly until they get it right. This repetitive consistency builds up muscle memory to do the task and takes the knowledge gained into each future attempt for a higher chance of success. 

Grit Grows 
People can maintain their determination over long periods of time despite experiences with failure and adversity, so long as they have grit. This strong-willed daily grind, however, can sand down some of that grit. So how can people grow their grit and stay motivated? Duckworth says people experience greater levels of satisfaction when the pursuit of their goals aligns with areas of interest. To drive motivation, gritty people balance their determination with a play and experimentation cycle that can spark new areas of passion and keep interests piqued. Duckworth says increasing your grit requires:   

• Interest – Passion drives motivation and keeps people coming back for more.  

• Practice – It takes up to 10,000 attempts to master an interest and turn it into a skill. Don’t give up.  
• Purpose – Establish why you’re doing a task and remind yourself of it when the going gets tough.  
• Hope – A little optimism can go a long way when trying to push through to success.  

Gritty people don’t just exist – they are forged. They wake up every morning ready to fail, learn and try again. If you feel alone in your pursuit towards grit, know that you’re not alone. Even John Wayne couldn’t find that scoundrel Tom Cheney on his first try … it took “True Grit” for him to achieve his goals and serve out justice. (For those non-movie lovers out there, True Grit is a classic worth a watch! 🤠)  
 
In pursuit of a partner with the grit to help you attain marketing momentum in an ever-shifting, real-time marketing landscape? Email Nate Tredinnick at ntredinnick@hiebing.com to set up a call.