A lesson in determination from Jim Valvano
There are plenty of definitions of grit – all of them accurate:
Pushing yourself to the limit
Unyielding courage
Mettle
Strength of will
Persistence
Fortitude
Toughness
However, when I think of grit, one person comes to mind: Jim Valvano. For those of you unfamiliar with “Jimmy V”, he was a college basketball coach for the North Carolina State Wolfpack who, against all odds, beat a heavily favored University of Houston team to win the NCAA Basketball Tournament in 1983. Nine years later, Jimmy V was diagnosed with an aggressive cancer that would take his life within a year. Shortly before his death, Valvano accepted the inaugural Arthur Ashe Courage Award at the ESPY Awards. During his speech, which you can watch below (grab a tissue before you do), he announced the formation of his cancer foundation and its motto: “Don’t give up. Don’t ever give up.”
Before winning the NCAA Basketball Tournament, Valvano had many years where he coached mediocre teams at non-traditional basketball schools: Johns Hopkins, Bucknell, and Iona. In other words, before he guided a team to achieve the ultimate goal, he failed time and time again. In fact, in his first six seasons as a head coach, he lost more games than he won. But, out of that failure, he found something. He found grit.
Grit is born out of failure. Grit is about having the passion and perseverance to achieve your goals. Yes, ability will always factor into the equation, but to achieve lofty goals, you must have the continual persistence and effort called grit.
People who possess grit are able to maintain their determination over a long period of time despite the inevitable experiences of failure. This passion – and the unwavering commitment to the long-term objective – is THE overriding factor that provides the stamina necessary to stay the course.
When you fail – and we all fail – own it and learn from it. Use that failure as fuel to get you to the next success. In that failure, you will find your inner grit and achieve your goals.
An earlier version of this blog originally appeared at PromoCorner.
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