Why Tenacity Matters
Ernest Shackelton had it in spades.
So did Louis Zamperini.
Entire generations of people—the dust bowlers, holocaust survivors, and those trapped in slavery—all embodied it.
Angela Duckworth, Viktor Frankl, and Ryan Haliday wrote great books about it.
Even Dr. Seuss weighed in on the topic.
In case you haven’t guessed it, we are talking about tenacity.
And, for Leaders of Light, this little, eight-letter word is a gamechanger.
In fact, so important is tenacity to a life well-lived that Alexander the Great (yep, the guy that conquered the known-world by age 33!) once said, “The hardest people to keep down are the ones who never give up.”
Let’s get busy.
Tenacity Defined
Formally defined, tenacity is the persistent, unwavering determination to hold fast to your dreams and goals despite obstacles, challenges, and setbacks.
In action, tenacity reveals itself in relentless dedication, resilience, and a “never give-in, never give-up” attitude.
For example, in Ernest Hemingway’s “Old Man and the Sea,” (one of the greatest pieces of American literature ever penned), the novel’s protagonist (a humble, impoverished Cuban fisherman named Santiago) rises early and heads out to sea in an attempt to catch his day’s rations—the food that’s necessary to feed both him and his loved ones.
Shortly after departing from the dock, Santiago hooks an enormous marlin. Soon, both fish and man are locked in a giant battle of wills.
After battling the fish for three long and grueling days, Santiago whispers to the fish (who is still on the end of his line), “Fish… I love you and respect you very much. But I will kill you dead before this day ends.”
That, my friends, is tenacity.
And this is what I think the experts meant when they said, “Tenacity is wrestling with a challenge so big that you can hardly imagine achieving it…and then growing into the person who can.”
So, Where Does Tenacity Come From?
Interestingly, researchers reveal that learning to be tenacious can be developed—and it can be pursued in a variety of ways.
Here are some ways to get the ball rolling.
1. Keep Your Eyes on the Prize. If you want to become more tenacious, always, always, always keep your eyes on the “better tomorrow” that’s right around the corner.
2. Ask The Right Questions. With every setback, ask yourself, “What good will come from this?”
Remember, your ultimate victory will lie in overcoming hundreds of small failures. And while they might be frustrating to you now, they are all leading you to something better.
3. Practice Daily—Use every task, every trial, and every papercut as a chance to get better. And by conquering the little things in your life, remind yourself that you are building the strength necessary to ultimately overcome the bigger, more substantial challenges that you are sure to encounter.
4. Change Your Mindset—This is key: Each and every day, be sure to reframe all of your daily “papercuts” and setbacks as simply an opportunity to get better!
Said differently, use these situations to practice being tenacious.
5. Read, Read, Read—Nothing (and I mean nothing!) is as powerful and as helpful as reading stories and accounts of people who have demonstrated remarkable tenacity in the face of great odds!
Remember, you can only lead as far as you have gone. By reading the great books about tenacious overcomers, you can actually live vicariously through their experiences—and as a result, become more tenacious yourself.
The 9 Best Books on Tenacity
To help you in your pursuit to develop tenacity as one of your superpowers, here are 9 of the very best books ever written on the subject.
Great Read #1: Endurance by Alfred Lansing. Endurance by Alfred Lansing is the definitive, harrowing account of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s 1914 Antarctic expedition, detailing how his 28-man crew survived for over a year on drifting ice packs and in small boats after their ship was crushed by ice, culminating in a miraculous rescue.
Great Read #2: The Worst Hard Time by Tim Eagan. The Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan is an account of the Great American Dust Bowl, chronicling the stories of families who survived the 1930s environmental catastrophe caused by a combination of severe drought and reckless farming practices on the Southern Plains.
Great Read #3: The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway. The Old Man and the Sea is a story about an aging Cuban fisherman who, after a long unlucky streak, engages in an epic, three-day battle of endurance and respect with a giant marlin in the Gulf Stream, only to lose the fish to sharks before returning home.
Great Read #4: Grit by Angela Duckworth. Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth argues that outstanding achievement is not born from innate talent, but rather from a special, cultivatable blend of long-term passion and persistent effort.
Great Read #5: Man’s Search For Meaning by Viktor Frankl. Based on his experience surviving Nazi concentration camps, psychiatrist Viktor Frankl argues in Man’s Search for Meaning that the primary human drive is not pleasure, but the pursuit of what we personally find meaningful, which allows us to endure suffering and overcome adversity by choosing our attitude in any given circumstance.
Great Read #6: The Obstacle is the Way by Ryan Haliday. Based on ancient Stoic philosophy, The Obstacle Is the Way by Ryan Holiday teaches that obstacles in life are not just roadblocks, but opportunities to be turned into triumphs, success, and personal growth through controlled perception, action, and will.
Great Read #7: The Book Thief by Marcus Zuzak. Narrated by Death, The Book Thief is a historical novel about Liesel Meminger, a young girl in Nazi Germany who finds solace, resilience, and a way to resist the horrors around her by stealing books and sharing them with her foster family and the Jewish man hiding in their basement.
Great Read #8: Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand. Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand is the non-fiction story of Louie Zamperini, an Olympic runner turned WWII airman who survived a plane crash, 47 days adrift on a raft, and brutal captivity in Japanese prisoner-of-war camps, finding ultimate redemption through faith. It is a story of survival, resilience, and redemption.
Great Read #9: The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead. Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel follows Cora, a young-enslaved woman in the antebellum South, who escapes a Georgia plantation via a literal, physical underground train system, embarking on a harrowing journey to freedom while being hunted by a relentless slave catcher.
Leading with LIGHT
Make no mistake, when it comes to producing the results that change lives and transform organizations, we (as Leaders of Light!) need to be tenacious!
What’s more, not only do we need to be tenacious, but we need to be tenacious in our pursuit of what’s good, what’s right, what’s excellent, and what’s uplifting to others.
And, in order to do this, we have to care.
In fact, we have to care deeply about creating a better tomorrow, we have to care deeply about bringing out the very best in others (by never giving up on them!), and we need to care deeply about not letting all the negativity and naysayers get the best of us.
In fact, we have to care deeply about creating a better tomorrow, we have to care deeply about bringing out the very best in others (by never giving up on them!), and we need to care deeply about not letting all the negativity and naysayers get the best of us.
Never forget, today’s struggle is tomorrow’s strength and today’s setback is tomorrow’s comeback.
In closing, I want to leave you with some powerful words from Dr. Seuss’s “The Lorax.”
“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s just not.”
Today, be tenacious in the things that matter most.
Don’t give up on a better tomorrow.
Don’t lower your standards because everyone else is lowering theirs.
And, for heaven’s sake, never give up on trying to bring out the very best in all those around you.
Until next time, See Light, Be Light, and Spread Light in ways that only you can.
Until Next Time...
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Why Tenacity Matters
Ernest Shackelton had it in spades. So did Louis Zamperini. Entire generations of people—the dust bowlers, holocaust survivors, and those trapped in slavery—all embodied it. Angela Duckworth, Viktor Frankl, and Ryan Haliday wrote great books about it. Even Dr. Seuss weighed in on the topic. In case you haven’t guessed it, we are talking about tenacity.
About Lead with Light
Lead with Light is an initiative that aims to equip current and emerging leaders with a reimagined approach to servant leadership.
Our ultimate vision is to grow and develop thousands of Leaders of Light to ignite a movement to see light, be light, and spread light in ways only each can.