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Persist Until They Can't Resist

January 27, 2019

Quit mak­ing excus­es. What we’re real­ly talk­ing about here is com­mit­ment. Until you make a com­mit­ment to your dream, it’s not a com­mit­ment at all. It’s just anoth­er fan­ta­sy.” — Rudy Ruet­tiger

I had the great plea­sure of get­ting to meet and spend time with Rudy Ruet­tiger who was made famous by the 1993 movie Rudy. If you haven’t seen the movie, it’s amazing.

This is a true sto­ry about per­sis­tence in the face of incred­i­ble odds.

The third of four­teen chil­dren, Rudy strug­gled in school because of dyslex­ia. He dreamt of play­ing foot­ball for the Uni­ver­si­ty of Notre Dame — even though he didn’t have the skill or size of a typ­i­cal player.

After his fourth try — and putting in the work for two years to improve mar­gin­al grades — Rudy was accept­ed to Notre Dame. He even talked his way onto the stu­dent coun­cil before he was admitted.

Once there, he worked hard to earn a place on the prac­tice squad – just show­ing up until they let him on — but nev­er got past warm­ing the bench, until the last game of his final sea­son when his coach called him onto the field. Mag­ic hap­pened – every­thing he’d dreamed about and worked so hard for: He made three plays and, in the final sec­onds of the game, in a sin­gle, astound­ing tack­le, he sacked Geor­gia Tech’s quar­ter­back. Jubi­lant, his team­mates car­ried him off the field.

Rudy used the same per­sis­tence, years lat­er, to get a movie made about his expe­ri­ence at Notre Dame. At one point, his per­sis­tence got him banned from cam­pus. It only took 10 years. At one point, he was on one of many trips to Los Ange­les to get the film made, to meet with some­one in the film busi­ness. When he was stood up, Rudy tracked him down at his house to make sure he got to make his pitch.

Don’t let peo­ple steal your dreams.”

His dream, by any stan­dard, was insane: a 57” guy who want­ed to play foot­ball on a col­lege team, and then make a movie about it. That movie, by the way, is con­sid­ered one of the top foot­ball movies ever made.

In spite of the odds, Rudy always act­ed as if his dream was going to hap­pen, no mat­ter what. When every­one said he was dumb and stu­pid – that he couldn’t do it – he focused on what he could do. That work eth­ic and atti­tude helped him to find a way out­side the nor­mal path.

All too often, it isn’t oth­er peo­ple who stop us from achiev­ing our dreams – it’s us.

The Chal­lenge

  • Look at your team: where do your log­i­cal, prac­ti­cal think­ing and beliefs get in the way?
  • What dream do you real­ly want to achieve — for your work, your­self and your life?
  • If you were to put togeth­er a plan — with incred­i­ble com­mit­ment and ener­gy — to per­sist until they can’t resist, what would it be?

About Lawrence & Co.
Lawrence & Co. is a growth strategy and leadership advisory firm that helps mid-market companies achieve lasting, reliable growth. Our Growth Management System turns 30 years of experience into practical steps that drive clarity, alignment, and performance—so leaders can grow faster, with less friction, and greater confidence.

About Kevin Lawrence
Kevin Lawrence has spent three decades helping companies scale from tens of millions to hundreds of millions in revenue. He works side-by-side with CEOs and leadership teams across North America, the Middle East, Asia, Australia, and Europe, bringing real-world insights from hands-on experience. Kevin is the author of Your Oxygen Mask First, a book of 17 habits to help high-performing leaders grow sustainably while protecting their mental health and resilience. He also contributed to Scaling Up (Rockefeller Habits 2.0). Based in Vancouver, he leads Lawrence & Co, a boutique firm of growth advisors.