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Why Most People Quit Right Before They Should Double Down: The Uncomfortable Truth About Grit

The phone rang at 11:47 PM on a Thursday. Another potential client, panicking about their quarterly targets.

"We're behind by 30%, our team's falling apart, and I'm ready to throw in the towel," they said. I'd heard variations of this conversation approximately 847 times over my 18 years as a business consultant across Brisbane, Melbourne, and Sydney. The problem isn't usually what they think it is.

It's grit. Or rather, the complete absence of it.

Here's what I've learnt: 73% of businesses that fail do so not because of market conditions, cash flow problems, or even bad products. They fail because the people running them give up three months before the breakthrough would have happened. I've seen it so many times it's almost predictable.

The Myth We Keep Telling Ourselves

Everyone thinks grit means being bloody-minded and stubborn. Wrong.

Real grit is intelligence combined with persistence. It's knowing when to pivot and when to push through. The best leaders I've worked with—from small Perth tradie businesses to ASX-listed companies—all share this trait. They're relentlessly focused on the long game, even when everything looks like it's going to hell.

Take James Packer. Say what you want about his business decisions, but the man understands persistence. Crown Resorts faced regulatory nightmares that would have buried most operators. Instead of folding, they've systematically addressed each issue. That's grit in action—not pretty, sometimes messy, but ultimately effective.

Where Most People Get It Wrong

The biggest mistake I see? People confuse activity with progress.

They're working 70-hour weeks, attending every networking event, responding to emails at midnight. Exhausting themselves without moving the needle. Then they wonder why they're burned out and ready to quit.

True grit isn't about working harder. It's about working on the right things for longer than your competition can stomach.

I learnt this the hard way in 2019 when my own consultancy nearly went under. We were chasing every opportunity, saying yes to projects that didn't align with our core strengths. Revenue was flat, team morale was shocking, and I was seriously considering selling up and getting a corporate job.

The turning point? We stripped back to basics. Emotional intelligence training for leadership teams became our focus. Nothing else. For six months, we said no to everything that wasn't directly related to helping leaders develop better EQ skills.

Revenue dropped initially. Obviously. But by month eight, we were booking more qualified leads than we'd ever seen. Word of mouth kicked in. Referrals multiplied. That focus—that gritty commitment to doing one thing exceptionally well—transformed everything.

The Four Pillars of Business Grit

After nearly two decades of watching businesses succeed and fail, I've identified four non-negotiables:

1. Obsessive Goal Clarity Most people's goals are rubbish. "Increase revenue" isn't a goal—it's a wish. "Increase monthly recurring revenue from existing clients by 15% within Q2 through enhanced service delivery" is a goal. Specific, measurable, time-bound. When your goals are crystal clear, it's easier to stay committed when things get tough.

2. Systematic Progress Tracking You can't manage what you don't measure, and you can't develop grit without seeing progress. I use a simple weekly review system: What moved us closer to our goals? What didn't? What needs to change next week? Takes 30 minutes every Friday afternoon, but it's kept me on track through market downturns, staff departures, and client crises.

3. Comfortable with Discomfort This sounds like management consultant nonsense, but hear me out. The most successful people I know have developed an unusual relationship with discomfort. They don't enjoy difficult conversations, challenging market conditions, or demanding clients—but they're not paralysed by them either.

Managing difficult conversations is actually a learnable skill. Most people avoid these interactions, which creates bigger problems down the track. Gritty leaders lean into the discomfort early and often.

4. Recovery Rituals Here's what nobody talks about: even the grittiest people need recovery time. Burnout isn't a badge of honour—it's poor resource management.

The best CEOs I work with have non-negotiable recovery rituals. Some hit the gym at 5 AM. Others have technology-free Sundays. One client schedules monthly fishing trips to Moreton Bay, phone switched off, just him and his thoughts.

The ritual doesn't matter. Having one does.

The Compound Effect of Sticking Around

Most businesses give up right before compound growth kicks in. It's like leaving the gym after three weeks because you can't see muscle definition yet.

I've tracked this pattern across hundreds of clients. Months 1-6: everything's harder than expected. Months 7-12: slight improvement, but nothing dramatic. Months 13-18: noticeable progress. Months 19-24: exponential results.

The magic happens in year two, but 80% of businesses don't make it that far. Not because they can't, but because they won't.

Dealing with the Voice

Everyone has that voice. The one that whispers "this isn't working" during tough periods. "Maybe you're not cut out for this." "Perhaps it's time to quit while you're not too far behind."

I call it the Quitter's Voice, and it gets louder during difficult periods. Market downturns. Staff resignations. Client complaints. Economic uncertainty.

Here's the thing: that voice is lying to you. It's your brain's ancient survival mechanism trying to protect you from risk. But in business, the biggest risk is often not taking one.

The most successful people I know have learnt to acknowledge the voice without obeying it. They treat it like a car alarm going off in the distance—annoying, but not worth changing course over.

Building Your Grit Muscle

Grit isn't something you're born with. It's developed through practice, like any other skill.

Start small. Commit to something manageable for 30 days. Daily exercise. Reading industry publications. Making five prospecting calls every morning. The specific activity matters less than completing it consistently.

When you prove to yourself that you can stick to small commitments, larger ones become achievable. It's progressive overload for your willpower.

The Grit Paradox

Here's what's counterintuitive: the grittiest people I know are also the most flexible. They're committed to their destination but adaptable about the route.

When COVID hit in 2020, we couldn't deliver face-to-face training anymore. Instead of fighting the new reality, we pivoted to virtual delivery within three weeks. Revenue actually increased because we could reach clients across Australia without travel costs.

That's strategic grit—maintaining focus on your core mission while adapting tactics to changing circumstances.

The Bottom Line

If you're reading this thinking "easier said than done," you're absolutely right. Developing genuine grit is difficult. It requires confronting uncomfortable truths about your current approach and making changes that feel risky in the short term.

But here's what I know after 18 years in this game: the businesses that succeed aren't necessarily the ones with the best initial ideas or the most funding. They're the ones that stick around long enough to figure it out.

Time management for leaders isn't just about efficiency—it's about creating space for the long-term thinking that real grit requires.

Most of your competitors will quit before you do. That's not cynicism—it's opportunity.

The question isn't whether you have enough grit to succeed. The question is whether you're willing to develop it.

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