By: Colby Harris
It seems like yesterday when Brian and I decided to work full-time together in pursuit of growing the largest health and wellness business in the world. These discussions were sparked throughout summer 2021 and by August of that year I was ten toes down on Grit.org and building this empire alongside Brian. We knew our mission was to help people build more grit, but in a world of options and ways to navigate that goal, we had our work cut out for us! August of 2021 we had no blueprint or designated plan. Our mindset was to be diligent, utilize our creativity, and always remember our why. I can’t speak for Brian, but my biggest challenge amongst this growth has been patience.
Frankly, everything we have been doing has grown at an alarming rate. So why has patience been so difficult? For me, I know that we can be bigger, better, and smarter each and every day. I enjoy the small wins but am always refocusing on the next step to keep our momentum going. The last six months have been extremely cool for me because I felt like our blank canvas in 2021 has now become more painted. Painted with direction, imagery, and idealization of where we are going and what we need to do. Amidst this growth, I still felt a burning desire to bring it all together RIGHT NOW, and complete this puzzle. It wasn't until this past week that I had a chance to truly sit back and appreciate how far we had come.
After a week of skiing and snowboarding in North Carolina, I came back with laser focus. I prepped all week for a Shark Tank style pitch competition where I pitched Grit Camp - our summer sports camp. I was in a room full of successful business owners discussing what we do, why it's impactful, and how it works as a business model. Although I didn't win, the experience was incredible and unlike anything I have ever done before. The day following the pitch competition, my schedule looked like this: 11am meeting with former olympic athlete, 1pm podcast with former NFL player, and 6pm meeting with Dubai based entrepreneur visiting Jacksonville. During my meeting with my new friend from Dubai, I told him the hardest part is being patient. He kinda chuckled and said, “Everything is patience. There is no success or sustainability to something that doesn't require patience” - and that really stuck. After I got through that last meeting, it was now Friday evening and I was headed home. I was nearly drawn to tears as I reminisced in my car how far we had come since late 2021.
Why were these events so important to me? Because it taught me one thing - you can’t rush relationships. Relationships are the root of everything we do. As I have been putting so much pressure on myself to make it all work, I took some time at the end of this week to look in the mirror and say to myself - we are doing it. We are really positioning ourselves to continue this growth and help fulfill our mission at a massive scale. The power lies within our relationships. So I add one more part to our game plan : all we need to do is continue to be PATIENT, diligent, utilize our creativity, and always remember our why. I conclude this blog with 2 statements that will guarantee your own future success: 1. Be patient in the pursuit of everything you do, and 2. outwork your own self doubt.
