The Mac & Cheese Millionaire

10PerseveranceWhy Grit Matters More Than Wit

“Champions aren’t made in gyms, champions are made from something they have deep inside them—a desire, a dream, a vision. They have to have last-minute stamina, they have to be a little faster, they have to have the skill and the will. But the will must be stronger than the skill.”

—Muhammad Ali

Around the age of nine, I decided that I really wanted a pet. I don’t recall if my desire for something cuddly to take care of was brought on as an antidote to early teenage angst or just by a really good episode of Alvin and the Chipmunks, but I was dying for a dog, cat, hamster…anything really.

I prepared a list of reasons for my parents as to why I would be particularly suited to be a pet parent, and argued my case over dinner one night. As working parents of three who liked to keep a pedantically clean house, they met my request with a swift “no,” and promptly returned to their mashed potatoes.

I slunk back to my room to strategize. Never one to take no for an answer, I set about figuring out how I could keep a secret pet all on my own. Could I domesticate a squirrel from the front yard? Too rabies-y. Perhaps a small ant colony in a glass jar? Not cuddly enough.

After writing down a few possibilities on a pad of paper in my room, I went to the kitchen for a snack. I opened up the refrigerator door, scanning for something delectable, when it hit me. I saw a carton of eggs and thought, what about a chicken?!

I asked myself how I ...