Calvin Coolidge and Perseverance (#168)

It takes a lot of grit to be the President of the United States. I’ve talked about Ulysses S. Grant’s grit in #143 and Rutherford B. Hayes’ grit in #51. Today, I’d like you to consider the gritty wisdom of Calvin Coolidge.

Calvin Coolidge (1872 – 1933) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 30th president of the United States from 1923 to 1929. A lawyer by trade, Coolidge ran for Governor of Massachusetts in 1918 on a platform of fiscal conservatism, a vague opposition to Prohibition, women's suffrage, and support for American involvement in the Great War. The war was a divisive issue with the German and Irish immigrants in Boston — Coolidge only won the governorship by 16,000 votes. While in office, his response to the Boston Police Strike of 1919 gave him a reputation as a man of decisive action and brought him into the national spotlight.

In 1920, he was selected as the 29th Vice President of the United States. He took over the presidency upon the sudden death of Warren G. Harding in 1923. Elected in his own right in 1924, he gained a reputation as a small-government conservative who worked diligently to restore the public’s confidence in the White House after the many scandals of the Harding Administration. As the "Roaring Twenties” stimulated economic growth across the country, President Coolidge gave a commencement speech at Howard University, signed a law that finally gave Native Americans on reservations American citizenship, and repeatedly called for a federal law against lynching. Opting not to run again in the 1928 election, he left office as a popular president, who was known for saying very little and having a dry sense of humor

Since he left office, Coolidge’s public perception declined dramatically — scholars rank Coolidge in the lower half of the presidents. He is praised by advocates of smaller government, laissez-faire economics, and racial equality, while supporters of an active central government believe he did little to avoid the Great Depression.

Coolidge and Persistence

One of the best President Calvin Coolidge quotes is “Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not — nothing is more common than an unsuccessful man with talent. Genius will not — unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not — the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.”

Perseverance

Grit is best defined as “the will to persevere to achieve long term goals.” A person’s grit is built upon a goal, their perseverance, their resilience, their courage to deal with the fear of failure, and their drive. Perseverance is persisting in doing something difficult. It is the second step in growing one’s personal grit. use small wins, remember past persistence, and capitalize on momentum to forge your perseverance and build your grit. I talk more about building your perseverance in Post #94 if you want more ideas.

Conclusion

Go on the offensive and use President Calvin Coolidge’s words to inspire you to develop your perseverance and achieve your gritty goals.