“ A PLAYER WHO IS FULLY PREPARED ON THE PRACTICE FIELD WILL FEEL READY TO MEET WHATEVER COMES HIS WAY ON GAME DAY AND THUS , FEEL MORE CONFIDENT AND ABLE TO MINIMIZE DISTRACTIONS OF FEAR AND DOUBT .”
papers , I took on a caddie job at our local , private country club . The caddie master turned me down initially , laughing that the bags were bigger than me . I told him I would just hang around at the caddie shack and wait for an opportunity . The other caddies tore into me as I spent days waiting for an opportunity that just wasn ’ t coming . They said if it ever did , I wouldn ’ t be able to “ loop eighteen ”. Well , one day that opportunity came late in the day and I was the only kid left to carry a bag . Not only did I make it around the course , but the member requested me for his next round the next day ! It turns out that I befriended hundreds of members over several years and their advice significantly helped me in my future entrepreneurial pursuits . GRIT !
Now seventeen years old and I get a job at a national chain grocery store as a cart boy . Soon thereafter , I was a stock clerk . I ’ ve always enjoyed an extra amount of energy and would challenge myself to fill my assigned shelves faster than the full-time adult stockers . Those guys sure rubbed it in , laughing that with the union we were in , they could coast and make the same as I was making hustling around . In my second year in the store , I was named assistant store manager , where we employed around 200 employees . GRIT !
It was painful in my high school freshman year to be the last guy cut from making the team . I hate to lose ! The summer following I spent no less than six hours each day practicing the game . I not only made the team sophomore year but I was also ranked in the number one position on the team . Junior year , I was named player-coach . GRIT !
There ’ s just not enough space here to note the many times grit came into play as I led six start-up businesses into national platforms . And then leaving the comfort of business success to start over as a “ starving speaker ”. So much GRIT was the key along the way . I laugh all the time thinking back to being fifty-eight and not knowing how to swim and me with my bucket list of racing an Ironman . And now I have fifteen Ironmans completed , including the World Championship . GRIT !
Again , pearls from Saban : “ The characteristics that made up our 2003 national championship team are the same attributes that form my philosophy for success . Terms like conviction , dominate , adversity , perseverance , commitment , attitude , teamwork , road map , pride , relentless , and intensity . Now , how good do you want to be ?”
The keys for me on the journey of life have been clear goal focus and practice , practice , practice . Duckworth in her book says that “ deliberate practice predicted advancing to further rounds in final competition far better than any other kind of preparation . Gritty people do more deliberate practice and experience more flow , and flow is for performance .” Pete Carroll , Seattle Seahawks coach : “ A player who is fully prepared on the practice field will feel ready to meet whatever comes his way on game day and thus , feel more confident and able to minimize distractions of fear and doubt .”
My all-time favorite book on GRIT is Endurance : Shackleton ’ s Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing , telling of Shackleton ’ s 1914 voyage to Antarctica . Enthusiasm is common . Endurance is rare . How bad do you want it ?
Let ’ s finish with a few more pearls from Angela Duckworth : “ To be gritty is to keep putting one foot in front of the other . To be gritty is to hold fast to an interesting and purposeful goal . To be gritty is to invest , day after week after year , in challenging practice . To be gritty is to fall down seven times and rise eight .”
So , HOW BAD DO YOU WANT IT ?
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ABOUT JACK DALY
JACK DALY is an experienced and world recognized sales speaker and sales training expert , who inspires audiences to take action in the areas of sales , sales management and corporate culture . He brings 30 plus years of field-proven experience from a starting base with CPA firm Arthur Andersen , a captain in the U . S . Army to the CEO of several national companies . Jack is a proven CEO / Entrepreneur , having built 6 companies into national firms , two of which he subsequently sold to the Wall Street firms of Solomon Brothers and First Boston . His professional sales trainer know-how has turned him into an accomplished sales coaching authority and author of books including Hyper Sales Growth , The Sales Playbook For Hyper Sales Growth and Paper Napkin Wisdom , all Amazon # 1 Bestsellers .
JackDaly . net
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