Persistence

This quote has always stuck with me:

My whole life, this has been one of my superpowers.

I’m not the smartest or most athletically gifted, but I’ve always performed highly in sports and the workplace.

The difference between me and the talented and brilliant people has often been one simple trait. They’re never going to outwork me…

This jumped out to me this weekend. I was playing Pickleball, my new obsession, with some friends and my knees were bleeding from some shots I dove for and we joked that unless you were willing to bleed to win, you weren’t allowed on our team…

A Blue Collar Work Ethic

I grew up in the lower middle class, and my sister and I were the first people in our family to graduate college.

By the time I was a senior in high school, my parents were making more money, but they were doing it by sacrificing to help us have a better opportunity.

Both mom and dad worked in the film industry, which required obscenely long hours. Dad worked for the Teamsters, driving cast and crew, for example. It meant he’d generally be one of the first people in the morning and last people at night—often 18+ hours per day.

It wasn’t much different for Mom. She worked in the accounting side of the film industry, as the lead accountant on the shows, managing a team and working long days and nights.

Throughout most of my life, I remember that my father was always an example of hard work. When you don’t have enough money, you often do work that wealthy people will outsource. For example, I remember working with my dad to level backyards, build 10+ feet of retaining walls and finish the basements on many houses we lived in – from the drywall to the plumbing and electrical.

We always had a project on the go.

And, mediocrity was never an option.

It also meant I’ve always had jobs. Likely as far back as ten or eleven years old when I’d deliver papers with my dad and brother before school.

That was followed by being a hockey referee, bailing hay in the summers, McDonalds and then a server in a bar.

You’re probably wondering…Where is this going…

I’ve never lost that work ethic.

Never let go of the lessons I learned.

I’ve referred to it as a blue-collar work ethic in a white-collar world.

3rd Line Grinder

I’ve also looked at life by equating it to hockey, a sport I played most of my life.

I was reasonably good.

A fast skater.

Good hockey sense.

Strong on and off the puck.

But, as my brother said, I had cement hands.

It meant, I was generally qualified for a specific role on a team. I was an excellent 3rd line grinder.

You could put me out against a team’s top players, and my job would be to make sure they didn’t score any goals, and hopefully, we could bang one or two in the net. It was an unglamorous role, but one I was suited for.

You see, today I still live this way.

Once I have a goal, I grind my way through it.

No matter what it takes, I show up until the job’s done even if it means grinding from sunup to sundown for long periods.

I’m not advocating you work crazy hours and sacrifice time with your family and friends. I am saying that there will be seasons in your life when achieving what you want may require that level of grinding and sacrifice.

In those moments, grind. Whether it’s picturing yourself as a 3rd line grinder or using a blue-collar work ethic, do what it takes to achieve your goals.

The other important thing about being a 3rd line grinder is you can’t take a shift off. You can’t miss a game even if you’re injured, because someone will always take your spot on that third line.

This is where the jokes at Pickleball came in.

I’m not as good as other players, not as talented, so if I want to play with the better players at our court, I’ve got to be willing to sacrifice…even if it means I lose a little skin along the way.

Resilient Persistence

This is how I sum it up – resilient persistence.

It’s the combination and culmination of combining a blue-collar work ethic with a 3rd line grinder’s mentality.

The persistence is the blue-collar work ethic.

Whatever the goal is, we’ll do what it takes until we achieve it. We will outwork the room.

Resilience is the third-line grinder mentality. No matter what obstacle comes our way, we’ll overcome it.

Whether it’s the pain cave in an ultramarathon or it’s an unbelievable deadline in the workplace. We’ll do what it takes to succeed.

When it comes to resilient persistence, I want you to answer something for me, where in your life could you be further ahead if you practiced resilient persistence?