It takes grit

Some days ago I wrote about my personal highlights in 2015 which to a large extent were very much driven by the demanding -, event-rich - and intensive work and dedication for AUDEAMUS CAPITAL.

Regardless of the accomplished milestones in the first year of my company (maybe despite them), the challenge of building a success story for AUDEAMUS remains. As I believe that constant engagement and energy are of key importance to successfully creating value over the long run, the following question continues to pop up in my mind: “how can I maintain that extraordinary level of commitment displayed during the launch of my business”? In other words: “How can I keep going with the same grip and energy of my business launch and not somehow become comfortable with the status-quo?

Interestingly enough I recently encountered a short review on Nelly Alard’s award-winning novel “Moment d’un Couple” (translated from the French by Adriana Hunter and published as “Couple Mechanics”) in the ECONOMIST and the article, gave me some valuable hints. The book, an elegant and mesmerizing tale about a marriage on the rocks – a complicated love triangle included- echoes some terrific, obvious reflections: “Years in, when responsibilities replace the romance and the days all look alike, staying together can feel less a desire than a duty. This is the moment when many marriages fall apart”.

So simple (and dramatic) as it may sound, I personally think such a sentence can very well apply to business projects. At some point in life keeping a job, pursuing a career in a certain organization or even accomplishing an entrepreneurial project “can feel less a desire than a duty”.

As Mrs. Alard writes “every relationship forces couples to decide to love, to keep on loving or to stop loving”. Differences aside, those three options are always open, professionally speaking, to all of us. Consciously choosing one of those options will, in the long run, determine our professional path. As she puts it “there is an element of will in love” and, undoubtedly, there is an element (a lot of would I add) of will in pursuing a job a career or a project.

Will, meritocracy, luck, talent, timing all is relevant, but without grit, endless grit, there is definitely no success.