What do you think of when you hear the expression “true grit”? The famous 1960’s John Wayne movie? Someone who is mentally or physically “tough”? Someone who perseveres? I think of all of these things, and, interestingly, there is a new budding field of research centered on the study of “grit” and the part it plays towards propelling an individual to achieve success.
Professor Angela Duckworth of the University of Pennsylvania has dedicated her career to studying the phenomenon of “grit,’” which she describes as “sticking with things over the very long term until you master them.” She writes that “the gritty individual approaches achievement as a marathon; his or her advantage is stamina.”
What sparked her interest in this personality trait was the question of why over the long haul do some people succeed while others fail? She thinks the answer is “grit” and she has some interesting findings that support this. For example, she shares how at the elite United States Military Academy, West Point, a cadet’s “grit” score was the best predictor of success in the rigorous summer training program known as “Beast Barracks.” Accordingly, she says, grit mattered more than intelligence, leadership ability or physical fitness.
The first person I think of when I hear that personality trait described is Gary Young, the founder of Young Living Essential Oils. The man does not stop until his mission is absolutely completed. Ever. No obstacle of weather, timing, or criticism, will deter him from developing innovative ways of cultivating, formulating and distilling the highest quality essential oils on earth– and perfecting that process every waking moment of his life.
I spoke to Gary on the phone yesterday and before I could discuss the “business” stuff I had called him about, he excitedly pronounced that he had set a new record of distilling 2000 kilos of Idaho Balsam Fir during a Winter Harvest! Not only was he excited about this amazing oil and the quantities, but he noted that his newly engineered water circulation system allows all water used throughout the boiler and cooker phases of the distillation process to be recycled; something he’s worked towards for years. Yes, we eventually got to some business, but I was so jazzed myself by his enthusiasm that I started telling everyone at corporate about balsam fir distillation records and water circulation systems– and now I’m telling you! That is the power of his grit-driven passion: it’s utterly infectious. How many would have gone as far as building a distillery to protect the delicate therapeutic molecular compounds found in oils? And then beyond that; who would have continued perfecting that process for years and years? Someone with grit.
Hopefully we’ve all heard Gary’s story and can understand what he’s overcome to be who he is, and to have established what he did in the company we all love. He’s the guru of the modern day essential oil revolution because of his demonstration of true grit in the face of countless obstacles. From being hit by enormous trees, to facing daunting business challenges, Gary’s faced it all. Do any of the challenges phase him? No. When “grit” is manifested, challenges are always overcome. In fact, once grit is applied over and over, a sense of “obstacle immunity” sets in, which allows you to feel confident in overcoming new challenges because you have confidently and successfully confronted them in the past. I’ve noticed whenever there’s a business problem we perceive as herculean in nature, Gary will calmly ask us to “walk backwards” into the problem to figure out how to resolve it in a calm and collected “obstacle immune” kind of way– and it always works.
The same goes for Mary, and for the Youngs as a couple. They ARE Young Living. They live and breathe it every second of every day. Their passion and tenacity are the beating heart of the business, inculcating every bit of it with their zest for essential oils and the people those oils help. Their combined grit allowed them to build out a new farm in the middle of the Ecuadorian jungle, to build out other farms and distilleries all over the world, to run a global business, and to withstand huge betrayals from past management teams who used the knowledge and experience they gleaned from Gary for their own financial gain and to compete against Young Living. It doesn’t matter to the Youngs; they persevere. I wonder how the founders of these splinter companies would react if their top management teams and scientists whom they had invested time, money and training turned around and betrayed them in similar fashion: would they have the same grit in the face of this personal and business adversity?
I’ll close by inviting you to research grit, and to look for examples all around you of people who have persevered in the face of adversity to accomplish their dreams. They’re all around us. Study them and figure out how they developed their sense of grit, and how you can apply those lessons to your own life. As Nelson Mandel so wisely stated: “Do not judge me by my successes, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again.”
Oil on my friends!
JT
Check out your own grit with this test!
https://sasupenn.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_06f6QSOS2pZW9qR
Additional articles on “grit”:
http://99u.com/…/the-future-of-self-improvement-part-i-grit…
http://americanradioworks.publicradio.org/…/angela-duckwort…