Grit – Be Willing to Prepare to Win

By Kat McDaniel, Principal at MEDiAHEAD

I have been thinking about the following question after my friend, Jaime Simpson, asked me to be on her podcast Winners Win.

Is there a characteristic or value you hold personally that helps you succeed or be a “right fit” for your role?

I can’t believe that it has been 31 years since I bought a little printing company because the owner was going to prison for counterfeiting – and moved to KC not knowing a single person with an 11-month-old baby!

I’ve always had what people call grit.

Everyone told me that there were already too many printers in KC when I first started making sales calls. But you can face adversity more confidentially when you are determined to make it through, giving you the drive that you need to come out on the other side. I had the unflinching belief that the company was going to be successful, and I told them so.

I am also the type of person that gets up every morning in a good mood. It’s important to feel that everything is going to be okay, no matter what. After surviving cancer – what’s the worst that can happen? A kind, cheerful persona is also helpful to keep your clients and employees calm when situations arrive.

Putting in the work.

Grit is related to a mindset in that if one believes that failures are due to their fixed traits, there is no reason to try again. Conversely, individuals with growth mindsets are more likely to be resilient and have more confidence to plan and prepare to overcome adversity. I love this Bear Bryant quote…

“It’s not the will to win that matters; everyone has that. It’s the will to prepare to win that matters.”
– Bear Bryant

When the Going Gets Tough.

There have been times in my life that I truly believed there was no way out. The collapse of my ex-husband’s business, which caused terrible financial blowback on my company, the death of my beloved, my cancer and lastly, the pandemic – who would have predicted that! There is an old saying “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” I truly believe that we need to keep going, putting one foot in front of the other, even when things get tough.

I have been blessed to have had people in my life that were resilient and demonstrated extraordinary grit and mental toughness throughout my journey. I have always been impressed by the people who displayed certain characteristics that allowed them to push through adversity and even excel while doing so. All of these traits have played a huge role in my success and the way I approach everyday life.

What traits have played a role in your success? I hope this resonated with you!