Grit and Goals - The Cornerstones to Success

In today's environment our definitions of what represents success may have changed, but the personal qualities that create the opportunity for success haven't. And when things are really tough, as they are right now for so many, it's essential to review where we stand with those essential qualities.


A recent Boston Globe article concludes that genius will get you somewhere, but to get to the top you have to have grit. The article goes on to say that recent research indicates old fashioned virtues such as conscientiousness and perseverance are better determinants of success than intelligence.


That conclusion would come as no surprise to Ralph Waldo Emerson, who passed away at the age of 78 on April 27, 1882. In his classic Press On, he said:

“Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not : Nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not: unrewarded genius is almost a proverb.
Education will not: the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.”

Far be it from me to change what Emerson wrote, but I do believe amending his writing to “focused determination and persistence “ would be an appropriate change – and I think he would agree.

In an article in Business Week, Angela Duckworth, a psychologist at The University of Pennsylvania states that after tracking the careers of her classmates at Harvard, she concluded that the most successful were the ones that identified a goal early on and stuck with it, rather than the equally smart folks that flitted from one thing to another.

Whether its the Boston Globe, Ralph Waldo Emerson or Angela Duckworth, all agree an essential ingredient to success is grit, or call it self discipline, persistence, determination – they are all part of the same thing.

Grit is another way of describing someone who sticks with it, doesn't let obstacles keep them from moving ahead and finishes what they start. It describes someone who focuses on an outcome and strives to meet it – realizing that flexibility is required – knowing that when things don't go well, they can adapt and seek resources to help them press on. In the classic movie True Grit, the title describes the heroine – a young woman who is determined to find and bring to justice the killer of her father. She succeeds – it's not easy and she has help – but she never gives up until he is brought to justice.

And the other cornerstone is goals – goals that concentrate and focus the energy of all that grit, self discipline, determination and persistence rather than letting them diffuse and be lost to too many little things. In todays environment, with so many of those different things demanding attention, goals are a critical element of striving for success.

The importance of having both cornerstones reminds me of the story of the man walking in the woods. A runner passes him going at full speed . After about an hour, the same runner passes the walker again – and this time the walker shouts “ Where are you going?” and the runner shouts back over his shoulder “ I don't know, I'm too busy getting there!”

I suspect many of those people Emerson described – the ones with talent, with education, with genius - failed as much from not being focused on the important few as they did from a lack of determination and persistence.

Without goals, even the most disciplined, energetic person simply can't sustain the focus and drive necessary for success. It's impossible to be single minded and focused without goals. But with goals, grit gets fed and grows. And with grit, goals are met, and then redefined to even higher levels of achievement.

A friend of mine was told by his boss that there was such a thing as being too smart, too talented, too educated. He said that happened when those qualities resulted in straying from the few most important things. The boss agreed that Google can be great – Wikipedia can be great – but they can lead the curious astray, and take energy and time from the most important things. That boss said the remedy to that temptation was to stay focused on goals – written goals - every day. He advised my friend to not confuse the attainment of knowledge with the attainment of goals. That boss was right.

Now's the time to take a look at your own cornerstones. Circumstances and changes in conditions can erode any foundation. Give yourself a test. Ask yourself what are the three most important goals in your life. Ask what are the three most important goals you have to meet this quarter, this month this week. Then ask if those short term goals support your three most important long term goals. Your answers - or the lack of them - will tell you what to do – and what you need to do to build an even stronger set of cornerstones for future success.

Written by Andy Cox, President

Cox Consulting Group, 4049 E Vista Drive, Phoenix, AZ 85032 Ph & Fax: 602-795-4100; E Mail: acox@coxconsultgroup.com;Website:www.coxconsultgroup.com; Blog: http://multiplysuccess.blogspot.com

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