When I was in college, I lived with a friend. My friend was constantly going, he was either at school, at work or studying. He never seemed to be going out for fun or dating or watching TV; he just worked hard. He got good grades in college, got promotions at work and did well. What is interesting is that my friend accomplished all of this while having a learning disability. But, in spite of his disability he had something that drove him to achieve, he had grit.

Grit is that determination to succeed and the willingness to follow through no matter what. Grit is getting up in the morning even though you are tired because your body won’t get into shape on its own. Grit is accepting tough challenges that people think are nuts just to prove that you can do it. Grit is one of the things that I admired as a read Arnold Schwarzenegger’s story and is one of the primary reasons he has been so successful.

A lot of people think that success is about intelligence or opportunity. Those are factors, but the bigger factor is grit. Grit explains why someone can go from rags to riches and why someone that inherits riches can squander it all.

I want more grit in my life. I want to work harder, longer and better than my peers. I want to be stronger, healthier and smarter than I am today. Grit is what will get me there.

Here is a great Ted Talk about this as well. I encourage you to take a look.