Chris Gragtmans

Grit & resilience

Agenda

• Personal history

• How do you define Grit and Resilience?

• G&R in competition

• G&R in exploration

• Nature vs. Nurture

• Business + real life application

My history

•Kayaking since 11

•3x Canadian Freestyle Team Member, 8x Green Race top 4

•Nontraditional route… correspondence for last year of high school

•Paddled in Austria, France, Australia, New Zealand, Chile, Argentina, Mexico, Uganda, USA, Canada

•UNCA

•Profession: Dagger Kayaks Pro Team Manager, Athlete, Business Owner, Writer

Kayaking intro

http://vimeo.com/24143970

Red bull divide and conquer

Red bull divide and conquer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mP9kMOHbusQ

Grit and Resilience

How do you define it?

“Everybody’s got a plan until you get hit.” -Mike Tyson

Grit and resilience

• Ability to push forward when the odds are stacked against you

• Ability to bounce back from setbacks without breaking confidence

• Ability to work your butt off for as long as it takes to achieve your goals

focus/fitness continuum

Steve fisher

• Self-made

• He had to overcome- logistically, mentally and physically

• Personal skin in the game

http://vimeo.com/47875472

Nature vs. nurture?

•Are we born with these abilities, or do we learn them?

“Genius is 1% talent, and 99% hard work.” -Albert Einstein

What does it look like in business?

•1918- fired from Kansas City Star Newspaper for “lack of creativity”

•1921- formed an animation company, raised equivalent of $181,000

•1923- NY distributor went under, forced to shut down animation company

•1924- Ate dog food, spent last few dollars on a ticket to Hollywood

•1926- Created cartoon character, partnered with Universal Studios

•1927- Universal secretly patented the character, hired his artists, cut him off

What does It look like in business?• 1934-1944- Mickey Mouse, Three Little Pigs, Pinnocchio, Bambi, Fantasia rejected

• 1944- Tried to adapt Pamela Travers’ book, Mary Poppins, into a film. Rejected.

• 1944-1960- Visited Travers repeatedly in the UK, she was finally overcome by his charm

Walt Disney

• 22 Academy Awards, 59 Nominations

• 7 Emmys

• Walt Disney Company - $40,000,000,000 revenue

• 1996- Walt Disney Company purchases ABC, the owner of the Kansas City Star

Real world application

• Competition is awesome

• 100% Commitment (Confidence)

• Expect the Unexpected

• Work hard, and DO NOT QUIT

Questions?

• Thanks for having me!

“If you strive to do anything remotely interesting, just expect a small percentage of the population to always find a way to take it personally. F*ck ‘em. There are no statues erected to critics.”

-Timothy Ferriss

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66molzUEkWI