The corporate jungle is really no different. In so many ways, that drive is the secret sauce that determines which entrepreneurs will make it and which ones won’t. I remember one episode where an entrepreneur said she slept on top of refrigerated vats of her homemade hummus while going store to store trying to sell it to grocery retailers. So often, it’s not just about your product, skill or background, but your success is oftentimes determined by your desire, your hustle, your grind. ![]() When I think about Alexa’s example and the amazing, tangible results she’s achieved mostly as a result of exceptional drive, I’m reminded of an episode of Shark Tank where Mark Cuban asked the entrepreneur, “What is your grind?” With a puzzled look on her face, she asked him what he meant by “grind,” and he immediately responded, “I’m out.” While she looked stunned, as an entrepreneur for 17 years, I immediately got his point. While she doesn’t have many of the skills and experiences most professionals (understandably) focus on acquiring, she does have something that’s proven for her to be much more valuable – endless grit and determination. Today at just 22 years old, Alexa hasn’t had the benefit of professional certifications, graduate school (or even a college education), formal corporate work experience or even much life experience, but she’s arguably more successful than many professionals twice her age still bumbling around trying to figure out how to get to speak at a professional conference or get published in a reputable publication. After that conference I knew I could use my platform to get more involved with public speaking which led me to launch my nonprofit Media Impact and Navigation for Teens,” explains Curtis. “That event changed my career path entirely. Her hard work really paid off when at she was invited to speak at Talkspace, a media/mental health conference (with virtually no professional speaking experience). ![]() This reply was the genesis of her being offered the opportunity to host her own radio show Fearless Everyday with Alexa Curtis, based on her Fearless Fridays initiative. Insistent on finding the right media contacts for her next opportunity, she then blind copied 466 producers on an email chain which eventually resulted in her landing a reply at Radio Disney. Between ages 18-19, she accelerated her social media presence by instituting “Fearless Fridays” on her Instagram page and hosting her own weekly podcast This Is Life Unfiltered.Just a few years later she again successfully pitched herself to producers (directly, without a publicist) to Today, and this appearance paid huge dividends for the trajectory and momentum of her burgeoning career.She found the producer’s email online just the previous week and pitched herself – evidently quite persuasively. At just 16 she landed her first appearance on the Rachel Ray show (the same day she dropped out of high school).Instead, he assumed that he just needed to work harder. No one is predestined for success.” So as he progressed through school while others seemed to sabotage their success by assuming they couldn’t achieve as much because they weren’t as smart or as skilled, he didn’t fall victim to that type of limiting thinking. He recalls, “My father drilled into me that everyone puts their pants on one leg at a time. Lima recounts how work ethic, drive, and perseverance can often matter more than intellect or natural skill, and he refers to hard work as the “poor man’s genius.” In the book he explains that while he had no scientific industry role models growing up, his dad definitely instilled in him a strong work ethic and poised his psyche for success. ![]() The son of Cuban immigrants, he overcame significant adversity to achieve admirable success. Brian Lima, MD who helped launch the first heart transplant program on Long Island and currently serves as surgical director of heart transplantation at North Shore University Hospital. ![]() Perhaps one of the best examples of this phenomenon is Dr.
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