“Maybe five of you – roughly 10 percent – will make it to partner here in 10 years or so. And it won’t necessarily be the brightest. It’ll be those who stick with it.”
That was the message from a senior partner during my first week as a corporate lawyer. It surprised me then, and it’s stayed with me for the past 25 years.
Because it turns out, sticking with it really does matter as much as talent.
Angela Duckworth, author of “Grit” (highly recommended! 📖), has studied this across fields from spelling bees to elite military training. The top performers aren’t necessarily the most gifted. They’re the ones with passion and perseverance – a.k.a. grit.
So if grit is a key ingredient for long-term success, how do we build it?
✅ Follow your passion: when you truly care, the hard yards feel easier
✅ Adopt a growth mindset: believe you can improve with effort, and you will
✅ Reframe failure: setbacks aren’t dead ends, they’re stepping stones (think Thomas Edison’s “I haven’t failed, I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” 💡)
✅ Celebrate small wins: progress helps build momentum
✅ Strengthen your mental toughness ‘muscle’: not through heroics, but by building habits that keep you consistent and focused
I didn’t stick with corporate law. It wasn’t my passion, and I have no regrets (but hats off to my wonderful colleagues who did 👏). But coaching is, and I’m building a practice I can be proud of. There’s more to learn, more mistakes to make, and – I trust – there’ll be plenty more to celebrate along the way.
🤔 Running helps me build mental toughness. What works for you?