What Researchers found to be the Secret to Success

What an amazing game!

If you’re not familiar, this was the last major play of Super Bowl XLIX between the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks. The score was 28-24, New England.

It looked promising for Seattle as they were inches from a touchdown that would gain them a lead and ultimate win. With one of the best running backs at the time, many argued that a run play was a no brainer. Seattle chose otherwise, and that choice cost them an interception and the Super Bowl. New England ended the game with yet another championship title.

What’s amazing is that New England’s defense never gave up. Seattle took charge the entire drive down the field, but New England kept pushing back. There ability to stay in the game paid off big time.

I’ve found that this ability is a common success trait, the ability to stay in the game. Big wins in life are not the result of being super talented or gifted but of simply staying in the game, giving a full effort until completion.

Angela Duckworth proved this in her study in 2007. In her research, she attempted to find the single most important factor to success. The results: Grit, or as we’ve put it, “the ability to stay in the game.”

Here’s a revealing excerpt from an interview with her:

“One of the first studies that we did was at West Point Military Academy, which graduates about 25 percent of the officers in the U.S. Army. Admission to West Point depends heavily on the Whole Candidate Score, which includes SAT scores, class rank, demonstrated leadership ability, and physical aptitude. Even with such a rigorous admissions process, about 1 in 20 cadets drops out during the summer of training before their first academic year.

Of all the variables measured, grit was the best predictor of which cadets would stick around through that first difficult summer. In fact, it was a much better predictor than the Whole Candidate Score, which West Point at that time thought was their best predictor of success. The Whole Candidate Score had no predictive relationship with whether you would drop out that summer (although it was the best predictor of later grades, military performance, and physical performance). ”

We don’t have to be the smartest or most talented person, all we need is to stay in the game, tough it out and give our all no matter the obstacles.

When first starting Start Smart Life, I can remember failure after failure that I experienced. My first major move was to present to a group of entrepreneurs. I made several connections, all of which looked promising.

One was with a college professor who promised to connect me with the school’s activities director. It didn’t work out as planned.
Another connected me to a high school principle to potentially speak at the school. It didn’t work out as planned.

The same person connected me to a school board member who later connected me to a program director over several schools in the area. It was promising, but it didn’t work out as planned.

Later I would embark on a calling spree, calling different colleges in the south-east. Many were promising, but it didn’t work out as planned.

Later I would attend other networking events and follow up with college administrators that I met. They seemed promising but…

Guess what? I kept pushing and eventually opportunity came. I’ve since spoke around the nation. I haven’t arrived, but my decision to stay in the game is paying off and will continue to pay off in a big way.

Enough about me. What about you? What’s your game? Do you have the grit to go through pain and failure without losing your push?

If you don’t believe so, the great news is that grit can be built. Before starting Start Smart Life, I had several failed ventures. Not because they were failures but because I gave up. I didn’t stay in the game.

You can fail-proof your success with a decision to never give up. The moment you decide that you’ll never give up, is the moment you succeed. It’s impossible to fail because if you keep going, you have no choice but to reach your desired outcome. You simply have to believe in yourself and the process.

Here are a few pointers:
1. Find your reasons. Most people give up because they have no reason to keep going. I wrote an amazing post on reasons that fuel your dreams. You can find it HERE.
2. Always remember that you can get much farther with average talent and grit than you can with super talent and no grit.
3. Fail proof your success: Decide never to give up on your dreams.