Grit is the spirited resolve to keep pushing forward even when the odds are stacked against you. It’s seeing a wall and deciding it’s merely a hurdle, not a stop sign. Entrepreneurs are often celebrated for their innovation, risk-taking, and success, but behind every headline-making breakthrough, there’s an untold story of personal triumph and perseverance that can inspire us all.

Consider, for example, the journey of a nonfiction author who penned a successful book. Seeing the potential to reach a broader audience, they decided to transform the book’s concepts into an online course. This was no small feat—the transition required mastering new digital tools, understanding online marketing, and reformatting content to engage a virtual audience effectively. Despite the challenges, the author’s commitment never wavered. Each setback was met with renewed vigor, each failure was viewed as a lesson learned.

This is not to say that passion can overcome every obstacle, but rather that the passion fueled by grit often leads to finding ways over, around, or through the barriers. Entrepreneurs with grit embody a blend of endurance and innovation, turning problems into stepping stones. They don’t necessarily have more resources but make the most of every available resource.

Grit doesn’t mean sticking rigidly to one path; it involves adaptability, a trait crucial for navigating the unpredictable waters of entrepreneurship. Consider the tech startups that pivoted their service offerings during times of change, or local retailers who embraced online platforms to reach their customers during challenging times. Their moves were strategic and full of grit, showcasing a powerful ability to evolve and adapt, empowering us all to do the same.

The beauty of grit in the entrepreneurial journey is that it’s universally accessible. It doesn’t discriminate by industry, scale, or even timeline. Whether it’s the first-time founder learning to code after hours or the seasoned inventor who, after numerous failed attempts, finally patents a new technology, the common thread is a shared experience of persistence. This inclusivity of grit makes us all part of the same entrepreneurial fabric.

To budding entrepreneurs feeling the weight of uncertainty or veterans navigating new challenges, remember this: Grit knows no limits. Your journey might hold unexpected turns and daunting challenges, but your relentless spirit will define your path.

Here’s to the relentless dreamers and courages hearts who dare to say, “Let’s try once more.” After all, in the world of creating and innovating, grit really does know no limits.

According to Harvard Business School professor Clayton Christensen, it is estimated that 30,000 new products go from concept to commercialization every year. Your idea may just be one of those 30,000.

Your idea may spawn from an event. It may appear as a plausible solution to a problem while working in the office. Or it could come from conversations with peers and associates. Or it may crawl out of your superior temporal gyrus at 3 a.m. and sound like this:
“Yeah, I’ve got a really awesome idea for a really cool product that will change the ______________________ (fill in the blank according to your revelation) industry forever and I‘m going to create it and save the world! Oh…and get really rich, too!”

Your idea may spawn from an event. It may appear as a plausible solution to a problem while working in the office. Or it could come from conversations with peers and associates.

You may have a number of questions that keep you from getting started:

• How do I know someone isn’t already secretly working on this and will beat me to the market?
• I know my idea is worth billions of dollars. How do I convince investors?
• Where do I find an investor who will recognize the genius of it all?
• Do I need a strategic partner to help market my product and where do I find one? For that matter, how do you define “strategic”?
• How do I get endorsements? I just figured out that rejection can make or break the success of my product. If my product or service is difficult to use, or if professionals don’t believe in the efficacy of the product or device, it won’t get used, and ultimately, they will stop purchasing it. What do I do?
• My idea is so awesome that a company will want to buy my company right now. What is it worth? How do I do this so I can get on with my life on the beaches of Costa Rica?

And on and on and on.

No matter the product or service, no matter how brilliant you know your idea may be, the chain of events that brings that idea to market usually follows a well-thought-out course of action.

When you’re bootstrapping it and working on getting a company up via the DIY method, nothing matters more than creating action steps to reach your milestones.
Our next post will cover why you want to create a roadmap and how this will help you get your idea from mind to market.

Ten years ago, I attended a self-improvement, week-long seminar in the mountains of northern California. Part of the outdoor exercises to learn to get over your fears was to climb an old, fifty-foot-high wooden telephone pole equipped with metal brackets as footholds.

The objective was to reach the highest point of the pole, stand on the very top with nothing to hold onto, stand there for a full minute while the pole swayed side-to-side in the wind, and then leap out and grab the steel bar of a trapeze ten feet out.

Having spent my youth climbing trees and leaping off riverbank cliffs thirty feet above the water, I thought the challenge was no big deal.

But as I watched others climb to the top of the pole and then stop just short of that last step, I began to wonder if it was as easy as it looked. What I realized is that as one reaches the top of the pole, there is nothing to grab a hold of to pull yourself up, so you have to step up that last 14 inches with sheer muscle and grit and then quickly bring your other foot up for balance.

I watched as one, and then another climber got stuck on making that last step onto the top of the pole. One woman sat on the last rung before reaching the top for over an hour trying to muster up the courage to take that last step. Shouts of encouragement echoed from below. Still, she couldn’t make herself move. Finally, she climbed back down the pole, defeated.

Several others did the same thing, only to fail and climb back down.

Then it was my turn.

Geared up in a hard hat and harness attached to a wire as a safety device, I started climbing. The first part was easy until I was about mid-way up. Then I felt the pole begin to sway in the wind. The further up I went, the more it rocked back and forth.

Gripping the metal rungs even harder, I kept climbing.

Finally, I was on the last rung… the place where others had been, yet had not taken that last step. I vowed I would not do that. I sat with my foot on the last rung for about a minute, and then I counted to three. 1…2…3… and made myself lift my left foot up onto the top of the pole. I was almost there.

I paused. I realized I would have to use every ounce of muscle and grit to finish the climb and get my other foot onto the top of the pole. With nothing to hold onto it was just me up there… depending on just me.

At that moment it also occurred to me that the worst thing that could happen is that I fall and have to climb back up and try it again.

So, I put all of my weight on my left foot and lifted my right onto the top of the swaying pole. I stood there amazed that I didn’t fall. I basked in the glory of it all for a few minutes, taking in the glorious landscape that I could see for miles around me.

“Waaaaaaah hooooooo!!” I shouted.

And then I took the big leap for the trapeze bar.

Oh, what a feeling of success that was!

Don’t be that person that climbs back down. Don’t sit there clinging to the foot pegs deciding if you’re going to take the last step. While you have the momentum of climbing up rung by rung, keep going! That last step is part of the momentum you already have. Take it! Do it! 1, 2, 3, now!

Then you’ll be standing on the very top spreading your arms out wide, taking in the incredible beauty of having made it and shouting, “Waaaaaaah hooooooo!!”