Grit — Podcast — 12 Geniuses

A Family Legacy of Resilience with Dan Grunfeld

In this interview about grit and determination, author and former professional basketball player Dan Grunfeld tells the harrowing story of how his grandmother escaped the Holocaust during World War II. Dan goes on to describe the challenges his grandmother, grandfather, uncle, and father faced as they moved to the United States to begin a new life for themselves after the war. Unable to speak English, Dan’s father, Ernie Grunfeld, used the resilience he inherited from his parents to turn himself into a high school basketball phenom who went on to become a collegiate All-American, Olympic Gold Medal winner for Team USA in 1976, and an NBA player and executive.

Dan describes his personal duty to honor his grandmother, father, and their family legacy by honing his skills, body, and mind so he could be the best athlete and person he can be. He wraps up the conversation by describing his own path to becoming a standout college basketball player and his unrelenting willingness to overcome a brutal knee injury that nearly ended his chances at a professional basketball career.

Dan Grunfeld is a former professional basketball player, an accomplished writer, and a proud graduate of Stanford University. An Academic All-American and All-Conference basketball selection at Stanford, Dan played professionally for eight seasons in top leagues around the world, including in Germany, Spain, and Israel. Dan is the author of the critically acclaimed book, By the Grace of the Game, and his writing has been published more than 40 times in media outlets such as Sports Illustrated, The Jerusalem Post, and NBC News. Dan earned his MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business in 2017 and lives with his wife and sons in Northern Virginia, where he works in venture capital.

Never Give Up with Heisman Trophy Winner Johnny Rodgers

In 1972, Johnny “The Jet” Rodgers was recognized as the best college football player in the country and winner of the coveted Heisman Trophy. As a member of the Nebraska Cornhuskers, his teams won two college football national championships. Johnny went on to play six years of professional football before an injury stopped the man that defenders couldn’t. Undeterred, he left behind pro sports and used his relentlessness to become a successful entrepreneur and supporter of young people in his community.

In this interview, Johnny discusses the importance of resilience for him as an athlete. He shares how he overcame an injury that ended his career after six seasons of professional football and how resilience, grit, and a never-give-up attitude have helped him succeed in life decades after his professional athletics career ended. Johnny even talks about how his mindset helped him overcome a weeks-long COVID-19 hospitalization that many people around him thought would take his life.

Johnny Rodgers played college football for the Nebraska Cornhuskers and won the Heisman Trophy in 1972. He played professionally in the Canadian Football League (CFL) with the Montreal Alouettes and in the National Football League (NFL) with the San Diego Chargers. As a member of the Alouettes, he was the CFL’s most outstanding rookie in 1973, a three-time CFL All-Star, and helped his team win the Grey Cup league championship in 1974. As a high school athlete, Johnny excelled in track & field winning a national title in the long jump, he was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in baseball, he was an all-star basketball player, and he was nearly untouchable on the football field. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2000. When his football career ended, Johnny started the largest magazine in San Diego history and has gone on to pursue numerous other entrepreneurial endeavors and community projects including co-founding The Jet Award which creates opportunities for youth through character, educational, and social development.

Building Grit with Shannon Huffman Polson

Being able to bounce back from adversity is a critical skill in being successful in business and in living a healthy, fulfilled life. In general, resilient people have better mental and physical health, are more productive, have a greater sense of purpose, and experience greater success. In this episode, Shannon Huffman Polson discusses the challenges she faced as a pioneer in military aviation. Shannon also shares what she has learned about developing resilience that anyone can apply in the face of disappointment, defeat, and adversity.

Shannon was one of the first women to pilot an Apache attack helicopter in the United States Army. She is also the author of the book “The Grit Factor” which helps people define their story and core purpose, gather and practice the skills to develop grit, and own their uniqueness while leading in difficult times.

At age 19, Shannon became the youngest woman ever to climb Denali, the highest mountain in North America. She went on to reach the summits of Mt. Rainier and Mt. Kilimanjaro. She is the founder of The Grit Institute, a leadership institute committed to whole leader development, and host of The Grit Factor podcast. She also teaches on the faculty of the Tuck School's Leadership and Strategic Initiative Executive Education Program.

12 Geniuses Podcast

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