Build greatness with grit

Hunt For Greatness

Milton Kamwendo

Greatness is not built overnight. It is built through focus, discipline, endurance and perseverance.

This means sustained effort, resilience and an unwavering pursuit of purpose.

Everything worth building takes time and effort. Grit is the fuel of all greatness.

Dr Angela Duckworth wrote an acclaimed book titled “Grit”.

This book is an inspiration for building greatness with grit.

What is grit?

Dr Duckworth defines grit as “passion and perseverance for very long-term goals”. It is the ability to sustain interest and the building effort over years. This is despite setbacks, delays and discouragement. Grit is a choice to continue moving forward regardless of obstacles. Talent alone is not enough to build greatness. Grit gives you the required staying power.

To build greatness, focus on developing grit in your character. It gives you the resilience to weather storms. It allows you to stay committed to your goals over the long haul.

Building greatness is not a short sprint.

Grit helps you get up after a fall. You adjust your approach and stay the course.

Refusing to quit gives you an edge.

Fuel for grit

Building greatness begins with passion. This is a deep sense of purpose that energises you to keep going, even when things get tough.

Passion is cultivated and nurtured over time. It starts with an interest, which then grows into an inspiring calling.

Passion is a committed fire that burns steadily, even during difficult times.

Building greatness with grit requires you to identify your passion and commit yourself wholeheartedly to it. Ask yourself: What do I truly care about? and what am I willing to work for, even when the odds are against me?

Finding a passion that aligns with your values and goals gives you energy and motivation. Greatness is not only about doing what you love; it is about loving what you do enough to persevere through obstacles and setbacks.

Stay the course

While passion gives you a reason to pursue greatness, perseverance keeps you on the path, even when it seems impossible.

Perseverance means pushing forward with determination, staying focused and putting in consistent effort, even when things get tough.

It means refusing to give up, even when faced with failure. Failure is not a dead end but a learning opportunity. Setbacks are part of the journey.

Failure is not a reflection of your brand value. It is an opportunity to learn, grow and improve. To develop perseverance, embrace challenges. Welcome constructive feedback.

View obstacles as opportunities for growth. Cultivate a growth mindset.

This is the belief that your abilities can be developed through hard work, dedication and learning from experience. Setbacks are a setup for your comeback to the building effort.

Greatness is not just about speed of achievement, but persevering through obstacles.

Deliberate practice

Building greatness requires a commitment to deliberate practice. Deliberate practice is a key component of grit.

It means engaging in focused, goal-oriented practice designed to improve specific skills or abilities. It is not just repeating the same actions over and over again.

It is pushing yourself to improve, seeking feedback and making adjustments along the way. Deliberate practice requires you to step outside your comfort zones, set specific goals and continuously challenge yourself.

It involves working on areas of weakness and embracing the discomfort that comes with growth. The more you commit to deliberate practice, the more your skills improve and the higher you build towards greatness.

Talent alone is not enough. Be willing to put in the time and effort required for mastery and continuous improvement.

Long-term vision

Grit is fuelled by a long-term vision.

Building greatness is not about achieving short-term success. It is about creating lasting impact. To stay motivated and focused on your goals, have a clear vision of what you want to achieve and why it matters.

A higher purpose is a reason beyond yourself that motivates you to keep going.

When your vision is tied to a greater purpose, you will stay committed, even when the journey gets tough. A long-term vision reminds you that the sacrifices you make today are worth what you are building towards. To build greatness with grit, set long-term goals, create a plan to achieve them and take consistent action every day.

Greatness is not achieved overnight. It is the result of years of hard work, persistence and dedication.

Challenges and adversity

Building greatness with grit requires resilience. This is the ability to bounce back from setbacks and remain strong in the face of adversity. Resilience allows you to recover from failure and keep moving forward.

It is not what happens to you that matters, but what you choose to do about it.

Greatness comes from how you respond to adversity and your ability to learn and grow from it. Train yourself to see challenges as opportunities for growth.  Do not fear failure. Every setback is a chance to improve and become stronger. Resilience is about cultivating a positive attitude, even in the face of difficulty.

It is maintaining the belief that you can overcome any obstacle.

The path to greatness is not easy, but it is worth it. When you build with grit, you create a life of purpose, fulfilment and impact.

Greatness is not about where you start.

It is the willingness to stay the course and keep building, one step at a time.

Milton Kamwendo is a leading international transformational and motivational speaker, author and accomplished workshop facilitator. He is a cutting-edge strategy, team-building and organisation development facilitator and consultant. His life purpose is to inspire and promote greatness. He can be reached at: mkamwendo@gmail.com