The #1 Predictor and Factor of Success

If I were to ask you, “What is the #1 predictor and factor of success for leaders,” what would you suggest? Gifting? Opportunity? Creativity?

Angela Duckworth, professor at the University of Pennsylvania, suggests something that might surprise you. It certainly surprised me!

Her answer to that question is found in the title of her New York Times bestseller – Grit. She writes, “It’s not talent, title, wealth, or appearance. It’s grit – the ability to work hard for a long period of time towards a goal. The capacity to persevere, overcome, and keep moving forward in the face of adversity, failure, rejection, and obstacles. Along the way, a leader will face countless challenges and will need grit to stand up to them.”

"Along the way, a leader will face countless challenges and will need grit to stand up to them - the capacity to persevere, overcome, and keep moving forward in the face of adversity, failure, rejection, and obstacles." Angela Duckworth

This mindset is exemplified by actor Will Smith’s not-so-secret secret to success: “I’m not afraid to die on the treadmill. I will not be overworked. You may be more talented than me. You may be smarter than me. And you may be better looking than me. But if we get on the treadmill together you are going to get off first or I’m going to die.”

That’s how the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air star became one of Hollywood’s most bankable actors. It wasn’t on talent alone. It was on the treadmill.

Grit. Where does it come from, what drives it, and how can it be sustained? Duckworth offers the following.

True Grit

Grit is inspired by vision and purpose.
If you have a vision for what you want and you have a purpose for wanting it, you will work hard and persevere in order to achieve it. When you know your “what” and your “why,” you won’t let obstacles get in the way.
Grit is powered by faith and hope.
There will be times when your failures will get you down. There will be moments when you want to give up. It’s during those discouraging times that you need more than positive thinking. You need faith and hope to keep you going. Faith keeps you focused on possibilities instead of problems. Hope keeps you moving toward the future instead of living in the past.
Grit is revived by resilience.
When you get knocked down, resilience will move you to get back up. You will keep fighting for what you love, what you believe in, and what you hope for. Even when your dream is battered a thousand times, you will keep reviving it and try one more time.
Grit is kept alive by stubbornness.
Like Will Smith, you just won’t give up, give out, or give in. You won’t let circumstances define you. You are determined to define your circumstances.
Grit is sustained by love. If you don’t love your dream, you won’t work to overcome all the challenges to keep doing it. If you love what you do, you won’t quit when the world says you should. You will continue to show up every day, put in the work, and ultimately realize the success created by the love you have inside of you.

If you love what you do, you won’t quit when the world says you should. You will continue to show up every day, put in the work, and ultimately realize the success created by the love you have inside of you.

Biblical Grittiness

What’s interesting is that, though Duckworth doesn’t claim to be a Christ- follower, many of her keys are eminently biblical.

There are numerous verses of Scripture that speak to grittiness, such as:

Galatians 6:9

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

1 Corinthians 15:58

Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

Philippians 3:12 -14

“Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus”.

And biblical examples of grit abound – Noah, Joseph, Jacob, Moses, Paul…and, of course, Jesus. Considering their perseverance and determination can inspire our own.

So how “gritty” are you? Duckworth offers a short ten-question assessment that can be found HERE.

After you assess your grittiness, ask God what He may want to say to you about it. Then make a plan for ways you can grow in grit. You may find, as God has promised, that you will reap a harvest if you don’t give up.

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