Grit is a skill that can help us to do anything we dream of. It’s the fine art of being able to find a solution to any problem and show real courage when attempting to fulfill a goal. The book “Grit” by Angela Duckworth dares to explain the science behind why perseverance, courage, and passion are far more important than talent.

The book will change the way you think and make you take action in a different way. You’ll stop thinking about luck, or natural talent, and instead focus on the one fact of life: you control everything, and only you can impact your success.

Here are 6 incredible takeaways we can learn from the book Grit:

1. Grit is a better measurement for success that talent

Talent has long been thought of as crucial to our success. In the book Grit, it’s finally revealed to us through scientific study after scientific study that grit is far more important than talent.

You can have all the skills in the world, but if you don’t know how to apply them and survive the long haul, you’ll most likely never succeed. Talent gives us potential but whether we use it is another thing.

“Some people get twenty years of experience, while others get one year of experience twenty years in a row” – Angela Duckworth

2. High performance comes from mundane acts

It’s easy to think that success comes from one or two, random, or planned events. The book Grit teaches us that those who can sustain the small mundane acts required to complete a goal are the ones who become high performers.

We’re programmed by society to embrace the idea that natural talent leads to our own greatness. This myth is promoted because it lets us all off the hook and allows us not to have to work too hard. The reality couldn’t be further from the truth.

By adding up thousands of mundane acts repeated over and over, we have the fuel we need to accomplish our goal. The experience is created, and the state of flow can be reached far easier. Don’t disregard all the little acts you do every day because they’re more important than you think and they add up over time. These little acts we’ll make you extraordinary.

“If we get on the treadmill together, there’s two things: You’re getting off first, or I’m going to die. It’s really that simple, right?” – Will Smith

3. Grit is about stamina not intensity

We can all be good at a task for a day. We can all give it all we’ve got for twenty-four hours and work harder than we ever have before. But, if we’re only going to work hard at this task for a day and then not keep repeating the process regularly, then we will never reach our goal.

Imagine if you worked your butt off at the gym once a month, and lifted heavier weights than anybody else. Would that allow you to look like Arnold Schwarzenegger did back in the eighties? Of course not.

“Learn to keep going even when things are difficult, even when we have our doubts. At various points, in big ways and small, we get knocked down. If we stay down, grit loses. If we get up, grit prevails.” – Angela Duckworth

I’d rather you started doing two minutes a day of exercise, every single day, than just doing one big workout once a month. It’s the habit that builds strength, courage, and makes you grittier in the long run.

What you see on TV and social media of your idols is the outcome of success. What you never get to see is the process and stamina required to achieve that level of success. We’ve all heard of entrepreneurs that are about to crush it with their new business.

What is missed is that an enormous amount of intensity focused in year one of a startup is not enough. It’s whether the same amount of effort is still being applied in year two, three, four, and five that really matters. It’s whether there is grit.

4. Decide what not to do

We all want to know how to be successful. Success is about minimalism in the sense that it’s what we choose not to do that is often more important than what we do. We have limited time and resources, so the way we funnel them both into certain activities will determine our long-term outcome.

5. Purpose is the idea that what we do matters

On the outside, the idea of purpose can sound very intrinsic and somewhat selfish in its pursuit and overall attainment. The book Grit teaches us that purpose is about knowing that what we do matters to others outside of ourself.

It’s the effect that we have on other people that often fuels our purpose further. Through the study of people that have grit, what we know is that they’re all able to find purpose beyond themselves.

If your purpose is all about you and how it makes you feel, you’re unlikely to be still following the same dream in the future. Chopping and changing your goals too much without the art of grit is a dangerous road towards failure.

6. The way you deal with failure determines your success

Each of us will experience massive failure that is guaranteed. The way we all deal with failure is the constant variable in every person’s life. As long as you never stop finding ways to make your situation better, you will succeed.

It’s the people who try a few different ways and then stop the practice of searching that fail. Dealing with failure is about taking ownership of your problem and making yourself responsible for solving them. At the same time, you can always ask others for a helping hand as long as you are taking the lead.

Failure will never destroy you and even when you finally find some success, it never ends. Life is about constant improvement and striving for the top of the mountain. Even when you reach the top, there is always a bigger mountain to try next time around. The only constant between success and failure is courage. As long as you have the courage, you’ll keep getting back on the horse and trying again.

What do you think about Grit? Let me know on my website timdenning.net or my Facebook.