Five Quotes from General US Grant (#143)
Ulysses S. Grant possessed an amazing amount of grit. Grit, of course, is “the will to persevere to achieve long term goals.” I define grit as the will to persevere to achieve long term goals. A person’s grit is built upon six components: a purpose, a goal, perseverance, resilience, courage to deal with the fear of failure, and motivation.
Grant’s life was not linear; it was one of highs and lows. Along the way he was successful as a war time US Army officer in the Mexican-American War, failed as a peacetime US Army officer, failed as a farmer, failed as a woodcutter, failed as a bill collector, successful as a Civil War General for the United States Army, a mediocre US President, failed as a business executive, failed as a stock broker, and was wildly successful as an author. Grant’s grit, tenacity, and resilience enabled him to keep putting one foot in front of the other no matter what obstacle he encountered. Grit turned the son of an Ohio tanner into an extraordinary figure in the nineteenth century.
I researched General Grant and his amazing grit for my book Grow Your Grit (available for order here). Both his autobiography (The Complete Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant) and Ron Chernow’s Grant are well worth your time to read. But if you don’t have the time to read these books, I wanted to share five quotes from Grant that didn’t make it into my book:
As we approached the brow of the hill from which it was expected we could see Harris' camp, and possibly find his men ready formed to meet us, my heart kept getting higher and higher until it felt to me as though it was in my throat. I would have given anything then to have been back in Illinois, but I had not the moral courage to halt and consider what to do; I kept right on. When we reached a point from which the valley below was in full view I halted. The place where Harris had been encamped a few days before was still there and the marks of a recent encampment were plainly visible, but the troops were gone. My heart resumed its place. It occurred to me at once that Harris had been as much afraid of me as I had been of him. This was a view of the question I had never taken before; but it was one I never forgot afterwards. From that event to the close of the war, I never experienced trepidation upon confronting an enemy, though I always felt more or less anxiety. I never forgot that he had as much reason to fear my forces as I had his. The lesson was valuable.
Oh, I am heartily tired of hearing about what Lee is going to do. Some of you always seem to think he is suddenly going to turn a double somersault, and land in our rear and on both of our flanks at the same time. Go back to your command, and try to think what we are going to do ourselves, instead of what Lee is going to do.
As quoted in "Campaigning with Grant" (December 1896), by General Horace Porter, The Century Magazine
The art of war is simple enough. Find out where your enemy is. Get at him as soon as you can. Strike him as hard as you can, and keep moving on.
Statement to John Hill Brinton, at the start of his Tennessee River Campaign, early 1862, as quoted in Personal Memoirs of John H. Brinton, Major and Surgeon U.S.V., 1861-1865 (1914) by John Hill Brinton,
In every battle there comes a time when both sides consider themselves beaten. Then he who continues the attack wins.
But my later experience has taught me two lessons: first, that things are seen plainer after the events have occurred; second, that the most confident critics are generally those who know the least about the matter criticized.
Use Ulysses S. Grant’s quotes to grow your grit and inspire you to go on the offensive in 2021.
In the Media
This week I went on the Chuck Williams Show here in Columbus, Georgia to talk about Grow Your Grit. Click on the picture to go watch and listen to the episode.
