 Today's video is going to be a short reminder to keep going and whatever you're pushing for will work. I used to think that you had to be extra special or gifted or possess some supernatural ability in order to succeed or be best at anything. And it was a lie. It's always been. I used to be the kid who would cry over 98% in a test because I had failed to reach 100%. I used to be the same kid who would easily give up on a game I loved playing because someone else beat me at it too many times. I hated losing and I still do. Now, although our special abilities may give us some advantage, it is however not a guarantee of our successes. The one thing that improves our chances of succeeding at anything is what psychologists refer to as grit. Yes, it is not our super-intelligence, it is not our special ability but grit. Grit is a combination of two things, passion and perseverance. The first time I heard this term was several years ago on a TED Talk video I watched on YouTube where psychologist Angela Lee Duckworth describes her experiences as a teacher. When she came to the realization that in her class, the best performers in the exam weren't exactly the kids with the highest IQs. So this sparked an interest into the study of what made people truly successful. Grit was the one thing these people possessed. And so after the research spanning many years, looking into athletes, business people, soldiers and so on, her team arrived at grit, having the passion and perseverance for long-term goals. Passion. Well, you can be very skilled and talented but if you are unmotivated to use your talent and grow into something, you're not going to succeed at it. And you won't be so special after all, you'll lose it. Knowing that success isn't devoid of failures and if you give up at every encounter of a loss, you'll never see any wins in your life. Seeing failure as only a part of the process and journey to success is how you win. Most importantly, you have to remember that this is not a sprint, it is a marathon. Discipline. Knowing when to act, when to wait, having the patience, dealing with other people, practicing even when you don't feel like it. And practicing when there's no match in sight and doing it over and over again when you don't quite see change is what builds you to be a true winner in the long run. So I realized that I've been practicing some grit myself and I must confess that it hasn't been easy applying this to a lot of the things that I'd hope to succeed in or get better at this year. So forming new habits have been tough for me, like they've been really tough. I easily lose interest or tend to give up when I don't see the results as quickly as I want them. Well, there are too many of them to name in this video but what I can tell you is that also I can tell you for a fact that feeling at the self-control part is what's really rocking me. That's allowing my impatience and ego to get in the way of things that could have otherwise ended differently and it is killing me. But I know I'm going to keep going, I want to keep pushing, I'm going to keep failing and failing some more if that is what it takes because this is what makes me happy and this is what I have chosen to do. And trust me it's so difficult to live up to these words coming out of my mouth but I will not give up, no. Now the beauty of grit is you don't have to possess supernatural ability. Grit is realizing that the average people all around the world have achieved masterful things because they refuse to give up on what they wanted to do. Grit evens the playing field once you know what you're working with. And you have the power. Grit is knowing that great achievements are most certainly not beyond you. Greatness is within us all. Well, first you need to step out of your comfort zone, develop your interests which invariably becomes things you're passionate about and believing that is worth every second of your time. You find a purpose you want to persevere and achieve that over a long period. Which means that you will need a whole lot of enthusiasm, stamina and discipline and then you too can fail. Fail some more till success becomes inevitable. That's all I wanted to share with you today. Hit the like button if this spoke to you, subscribe if you haven't already done that and see you in the next video. My name is Kwame. I'm a documentary filmmaker and photographer and a voiceover artist based in Accra, Ghana and I'll catch you again another time. Peace out.