What I Learned From a College Grad About Grit (And Why I Needed the Reminder)
I sat down to record an episode with Faith, a recent college graduate who is also Gen Z through and through. I expected to learn about her…
What I Learned From a College Grad About Grit (And Why I Needed the Reminder)
Photo by Jaco Pretorius on Unsplash
I sat down to record an episode with Faith, a recent college graduate who is also Gen Z through and through. I expected to learn about her generation. Instead, she reminded me of something I already knew but of course needed the reminder.
She said something simple.
Everything takes longer than you think it will. Three times longer, in her words. And you cannot get anywhere without grit.
Love it.
The team nobody was watching
Years ago, I ran a small aquatics program. It was not glamorous. Nobody was writing articles about it. But I had a handful of young staff members reporting to me, and I told them plainly: I cannot pour into everyone, but I can pour into you.
We read books together. We talked about leadership on slow afternoons. I did not know if any of it would matter (yes, I did, lol).
One of those staff members later told me she cried when I left. That little program had become her pride and joy, not because the work itself was exciting, but because someone cared enough to invest in her while she was doing it.
Check it out… Leadership rarely happens on the big stage. It happens in the parts of your job nobody is applauding. A shift schedule. A team meeting nobody wants to attend. A conversation you almost skipped because you were tired.
Ask yourself this
If you are leading right now, whether in a company, a classroom, or a family, ask yourself a question honestly. Are you patient enough to invest in people before you see any return? Are you willing to care about something small long enough for it to become something that matters?
Faith said her generation is sick of itself in some ways. I think every generation has felt that at some point, including mine. The answer has never been complicated, even when the timeline is not what we hoped for.
Grit is not glamorous.
It looks like showing up again on the day you do not feel like it. It looks like caring about a small team, a small project, a small town, long before anyone else notices.
So here is my question for you today. What have you given up on too soon, simply because it was not moving as fast as you wanted?
Sometimes the slow work is the real work.
Lead well,
MO
P.S. If you’re enjoying the content here and want to see more, consider buying me a coffee! Your support helps keep the ideas flowing and allows me to create even more valuable content. Every cup goes a long way in fueling future posts, so if you can, I’d genuinely appreciate your contribution. Thanks for reading and for helping me keep this journey going!
More of MO:
*www.youtube.com/risingtideleadership*
*https://buymeacoffee.com/risingtide.mo*
*https://calendar.app.google/ci87q1xPEoX8VStV8*
[embed]
메타데이터
- post_id
- 5bbd8b1a6e7b
- slug
- what-i-learned-from-a-college-grad-about-grit-and-why-i-needed-the-reminder-5bbd8b1a6e7b
- url
- https://medium.com/@poorboymo/what-i-learned-from-a-college-grad-about-grit-and-why-i-needed-the-reminder-5bbd8b1a6e7b
- canonical_url
- https://medium.com/@poorboymo/what-i-learned-from-a-college-grad-about-grit-and-why-i-needed-the-reminder-5bbd8b1a6e7b
- author_url
- https://medium.com/@poorboymo
- status
- ok
- fetched_at
- 2026-08-25 00:23:41
