How to Find Your True Grit

Have you ever started something and not quite finish it?  Have you ever struggled to stay focused on a single task or goal?  What keeps a person focused and committed in the face of adversity? 

In the movie True Grit Maddie, a young teenage girl, sets out to avenge her father's death.   The murderer, Tom Chaney, has vanished and "no one could be bothered to care."    We are initially led to believe Maddie is searching for a person to find Chaney and bringing him to justice.  In actuality she is looking for a person who will match her passion and commitment.  Ultimately, she finds Marshall Cogburn.  But, he is not going for her, he's joining her!   Why is Maddie so driven?   Justice for her father.  So, beyond just being a great movie, is there anything we can apply to our own lives  for our own lives?  

Two words.  Vision and Purpose.  Maddie constantly imagined bringing Chaney to justice and kept that purpose constantly in front of her.  

In his work "Man's Search for Meaning," Victor Frankl unpacks the idea of perseverance by recounting his experience of surviving Auschwitz.  Frankl suggests that humanity's deepest desire is to find meaning and, if we find it, we can survive anything.  He goes on to propose we find meaning through three basic avenues: work, love, and suffering.  

The purpose of this series has been to explore the intersection of Talents, Awareness and Grit.  As I reflect on these intersections, I'm drawn to the idea that we must identify and attach our lives to a purpose beyond ourselves; that the work we do is making a difference, that our loved ones need us, and the challenges we face offer a greater meaning to our lives.  In all of our diversity and differences, we all search for good work.  We each have a deep need to love and be loved.  We all experience pain.   

When we are cognizant of the opportunities and needs around us we become aware.  When we articulate how we have been gifted to best respond to those opportunities and needs, we are able to engage our talents.  When we connect those opportunities and talents to a larger purpose and meaning, our ability to persevere will increase exponentially.  

Here are a few next steps to make these ideas come to life!

In Your Personal Life: 

1. Identify one area of your work that makes a difference in world.  Write it on a 3x5 Card and put it somewhere you can see it throughout the day.
2. Write a letter, email, or text to someone you love.  Tell them at least one thing you are grateful for.  
3. Identify an area of suffering in your life?  How has it changed you?  How could you grow from this experience?    

In Your Organization: 

1. Identify at least one way your organization is improving the lives of people.
2. Find a clear way to communicate this impact to your team and invite them to celebrate!

Success: Three Questions to Know Your Talents

Often times your success hinges on the ability to correctly perceive opportunities, understand your core talents, and persevere in the face of adversity.    We'll be exploring these intersections in the coming weeks.  Here are our working definitions and previous post.    

Awareness: The ability to perceive your surroundings correctly.

Talents: A skill set you've been given and hone over years of practice. 

Grit: Your resolve and strength of character to persevere in the face of resistance.

As you become aware of opportunities, you must then ask, "Is this opportunity for me?  Is this my work to do?"  One of the key components to answering these questions is clarity on your unique talents.  This allows you to identify your unique areas of contribution.  In addition, when talents go unused they stagnate and wither.  So, in order to live with focus rather than frenzy and keep your talents alive and active, you must clearly articulate what you do well.  

Here are two sets of questions that will help move you toward a greater understanding of your core talents.  

In Your Personal Life: 

1. Thinking back through your life story, what are three responsibilities and successes you have had that stand out?
2. What is something you absolutely love to do?
3. When your friends describe you, what are some of the key words they use?

What trends or patterns begin to emerge?  Are there any overlapping concepts or ideas that could be written as actions or skills?  

In Your Organization: 

1. How is your organization known?  In every field there are core competencies.  Beyond these, what abilities make your team stand out? 
2. Where has your team seen success? How can you focus on these and leverage them to a greater degree? 
3. Who on your team, if given the chance, do you believe could rise to a new level of contribution?  Identify a specific responsibility and offer them the opportunity to grow?  

Find Your "Why"

Near the turn of the twentieth century The Central Leather Company was the 17th largest company in the United States.   Today, the company is gone.  Why?  It didn't anticipate the implications of the Ford Automobile.  The Central Leather Company made buggy whips and saddles.

It's easy to become focused on the "what" and the "how."  But, unless you understand the "why" you will lose the ability to adapt.  If The Central Leather Company would have framed their business as, "We help transport people because humans thrive when we connect" rather than, "We make buggy whips and saddles" they may have been able to navigate the dramatic changes of the early twentieth century.

The same can be true for each of us as well.  What is the deeper "why" of your daily life?  Why are you a student?  Why do you work at your job? Why are you in ministry?  Why are are you a father or mother?

Take a moment and think through an important area of your life.  The following prompts are designed to help you find your "Why" rather than the "What" and the "How."  Once you have clarity you'll be more equipped to navigate the future with grace and hope.  Respond to the following prompts.

An important area of my life is:

It's important because:

Now take this answer and drill down by asking yourself "why" at least three times to each consecutive answer.   Once you get to the deeper layers you're starting to uncover the deeper "why" of your actions.  What do you learn?

Humility - The Way to the Top

There's a great paradox in leadership; it takes incredible drive and personal ambition to reach the highest levels of influence and authority, but when we pair that drive with self-promotion and ego our lasting impact will be short-lived.  In the opening chapter of his book "Good to Great" Jim Collins describes a rare, but powerful leadership trait known as a Level 5 leader.  

"Level 5 leaders are a study in duality: modest and willful, humble and fearless.  To quickly grasp this concept, think of United States President Abraham Lincoln (one of the few Level 5 presidents in the United States history), who never let his ego get in the way of his primary ambition for the larger cause of an enduring great nation.  Yet those who mistook Mr. Lincoln's personal modesty, shy nature, and awkward manner as signs of weakness found themselves terribly mistaken, to the scale of 250,000 Confederate and 360,000 Union lives, including Lincoln's own." (22)

I believe we all want to leave a legacy, to have our own efforts outlast us.  But, that desire is easily sabotaged by our cultural insistence of self-promotion.  In order to know how to respond we need heroes, people who have given us their stories as a model for our own lives.  

Who in your life has modeled the life of a Level 5 Leader?  What is a concrete step you can take to be more like that person?

For anyone interested in learning more, I would like to recommend two videos. The first is a talk that was given by David Brooks called, "Humility in the Time of Me."  It's nineteen minutes of absolute gold.  The second is an interview with Cardinal Luis Tagel of the Philippines.  I believe he is an excellent example of a Collin's Level 5 Leader. I found his talk profoundly inspiring.  

David Brooks:  http://qideas.org/videos/humility-in-the-time-of-me/ 

Cardinal Luis Tagel:  http://alpha.org/lc/talks/ 

Put Me In Coach!

When Alabama wins a championship people across the state go nuts.  The city of Tuscaloosa shuts down.   People in the stands are jubilant.  The football team runs across the field screaming hugging anyone in sight.  Nick Saban, the head coach, claps his hands a few times, jogs across the field, congratulates the other coach and then begins to prepare for the next year.  When interviewed he will typically respond, "I'm just so proud of the team.  They persevered and came through with a great win against a great team."  Ironically, the person who has the most responsibility for the championship title is, at least outwardly, taking the least credit.  That's because he's the coach and he understands his role.  

Here are three lessons from coaching to help move you down the field.

1. A coach has a clear vision of where the team needs to go and how they will get there.  Do you have a clear understanding of where the people around you are heading?  Where does your family need to be this time next year?  Do you have a plan to help guide them down that pathway?
2. A coach has mastered the game.  Have you done the work of knowing yourself, of facing your own issues?  Do you have something to offer others?  You cannot give water to thirsty people if you don't have a well from which to draw.
3. Your greatest success is when others succeed.  This seems counterintuitive, but the most fulfilling and life-giving experience you can have is to help those around you become who they were created to be.   Imagine a world in which everyone helped each other reach their greatest potential!