Personal Development

Talent is not enough – Grit makes the difference

Amy is a young agent in real estate who lives and works here. Amy has had difficulty getting clients due to high competition for real estate properties in the area. Through her entire life, she has relied on her determination to overcome difficult situations. Despite struggling with many subjects at school, she persevered to graduate college. She feels totally outmatched now and faces a new challenge. She feels that her competitors are smarter and more competent than she is. She is constantly rehearsing in her head how she is not able to compete with her competitors. This is seriously affecting her ability as an agent. What can Amy do to improve her outlook? What can Amy do to improve her outlook? How can she work towards building her company and reaching her financial goals? This article will discuss a few strategies.

What’s the difference between “Talent” and “Grit?”

Talent is the most important thing in our society. We are awed by the stories of brilliant musicians who learned the violin at four years old, and code geniuses who launched the next social media company. Many people can fill this role. Talent is just one aspect of the equation. Angela Duckworth’s book, “Grit: The Power of Passion & Perseverance” explores how “Grit” may be the key for unlocking one’s true potential. What is “Grit?” Grit is passion and perseverance, as well as a determination to reach long-term goals. Grit is the ability to persevere, and treat each challenge as a marathon instead of a sprint. Grit is the ability to stick to one goal, one idea, or one objective for many years. It’s putting in a lot to learn skills and then using those skills to achieve your goals. This will make you a successful in any industry. Here is a list with all the formulae discussed in the book. Talent = Skill Skills = Achievement It takes effort and time to learn any new skill. Talented individuals may be more able to learn the skill faster than those who are less skilled. If someone is looking to become a successful person, it’s more important to put in the effort than talent. Your chances of success can be increased by learning more about your craft and applying it to your goals. My football coach once said that talent isn’t a skill and that hard work wins. How to Increase “Grit” Over Time Angela tells the story of the bricklayer. The story features three bricklayers building a church together. The first bricklayer says they are laying bricks, while the second states they are building churches (a career), and the third says they are building the house God (a calling). Although each bricklayer did the same job, the third bricklayer felt more called and saw his job as a calling. Research shows that people who view their job as a calling work 33% less, work 20% more each week, and are more engaged in the day. If they work 40 hours per semaine, this means an average person will work 400 more hours per year. This is nearly three months of full-time work! You can repeat this effort for up to a decade and gain 2 years or 4000 hours more experience. It doesn’t matter if you don’t find your calling in your current job, but it is worth looking into how your job matches your bigger purpose. Passion is key to success.

Have a growth mindset

What would your answer be to the question “How do setbacks impact your life?” If you answered “I hate settingbacks” and didn’t find them helpful, you may be living with a pessimistic outlook. You must get rid of your pessimism if you want to reach your full potential. To be more growth-focused, you must change your mindset. What is growth focus? Negative stimuli should be seen as opportunities for growth and improvement. Are you going to be angry if you don’t receive the promotion you have worked so hard for? Do you instead look objectively at what you can do better and work towards achieving your goal? One Stanford University study found that elementary school students were able to learn how the brain responds to negative stimuli. Children were more likely not to give up after learning how the brain reacts to challenges, because they believed failure was temporary. Do you feel down about your past failures? You can use the past failures as a learning opportunity to improve your brain’s response. This will make you more resilient in difficult situations and help you overcome adversity.

All it together

Amy felt inspired and renewed by the article. She made a commitment to make positive changes in her everyday life. She knew she could succeed if her efforts were put in and she outworked her competition. Amy resolved to stop being negative about herself in the last few months. Instead of calling Amy “stupid” and a “loser”, she changed the negative phrases to “I’m willing to learn and grow” and “when it gets difficult, the tough get moving”. By replacing negative phrases by positive ones, she felt more confident and determined to reach her goals. Amy would evaluate any setbacks that she encountered over the next few weeks and decide the best course. She began to search for a solution. After about 1 1/2 years of hard work, her perseverance paid off. Her outstanding work earned her many clients who began referring her to their friends and families. She began to hire additional agents to meet increasing demand. Five years later, her team now includes eight agents. Although she’s never been happier, she remains focused on her long-term goals. Life will throw curve balls at you from time to time. There will be setbacks, detours and bumps in your life that will test your abilities and capabilities. To reach your long-term goals, you must overcome these obstacles. Continue to work with the same intensity. Accept failures, learn from your mistakes, and accept them. This is how you can live the life you desire.