9781422277874

What is Initiative, Grit & Perseverance?

Poverty to Wealth: Stephen King Wildly successful, best-selling author Stephen King knows a thing or two about perseverance. He famously hung early rejection letters from publishers on his wall with a nail. The pile grew so large that he had to replace the nail with a spike. When he sat down to write Carrie , his first major success, his discouragement led him to ball up the manuscript and toss it in the trash. Fortunately, his wife found the discarded story and persuaded him to finish it. Carrie became a huge success and was eventually turned into a Hollywood film.

A closer look, however, will reveal a common thread. Most leaders must withstand great forces, both internally and externally, in order to make an impact. In other words, they must be willing to fail, get back up again, dust themselves off, and carry on. They must persevere in their cause. If Martin Luther King Jr. had backed down the first time he was called an ugly name or threatened, blacks may have never achieved equal rights in America. We all know that getting a quality education increases our odds of obtaining success in our careers—it’s an established fact that education and experience are associated with leadership. Surprisingly, however, a recent study shows that among noncognitive abilities (meaning those not related to intelligence), a high level of perseverance is more common in leaders. Why? People respect and are more likely to want to follow someone who has staying power. A leader is someone who is steadfast in their mission. They press on despite the odds or the forces they face. Take our friend Jared, for example.

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