“Sometimes a winner is just a dreamer who never gave up.” — Michael Jordan
Michael Jordan, six-time NBA champion, is in the news again after his recent $10 million gift to a Wilmington, North Carolina medical center in honor of his mother. She played an important role in his success in life.
He’s considered by many to be the greatest basketball player of all time, and he certainly worked hard for it. Rigorous training. Intense practice. Tenacious competitive spirit.
Yet when he was in high school, he was cut from the varsity basketball team. His coaches felt he would benefit from the extensive practice minutes he would get playing on the Junior Varsity team instead. Michael, devastated and demoralized about the rejection, talked to his mother about quitting the sport. But she advised him, “If you really want it, you work hard over the summer.”
So he committed to a relentless improvement campaign, and went on to score 40 points per JV game, before moving up to the varsity team with determination and dominance.
As Michael has said, “If you do the work, you get rewarded.”
That same mindset can make all the difference to us as B2B copywriters. Sometimes the most successful freelance B2B copywriters aren’t the most talented people in the room — instead they’re thriving because they stuck around long enough to get good.
Angela Duckworth’s Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance shows us something powerful… Success isn’t just about natural ability.
It’s about your desire and determination to achieve long-term goals.
For struggling freelance writers, this mindset changes everything. It means your current skill level doesn’t decide your future success. Your willingness to keep going does.
Let’s look at three questions that explore this in greater detail…
1. Can Grit Substitute for Talent or Passion?
Some people have a natural way with words. They craft sentences that sing. But B2B copywriting isn’t poetry. It’s about understanding business problems, researching solutions, and communicating clearly.
These are learnable skills.
Some naturally gifted writers struggle as freelancers because when clients give feedback, they take it personally. They can’t handle the rejection and push back on revising their work. Meanwhile, writers with average talent but serious determination build six-figure businesses.
Why? Because grit compensates for talent gaps through deliberate practice. When you don’t have natural ability, you study harder. You analyze what works. You seek feedback even when it stings. You learn from every setback.
Think about it this way. The talented writer relies on instinct. The gritty writer builds systems. When instinct fails (and it does), talent alone won’t save you. But systems keep working.
What about passion? Don’t you need to love writing to succeed?
Not necessarily. You do need to love something about this work. Maybe it’s the research. Maybe it’s seeing your words drive results. Maybe it’s the freedom of working for yourself. But passion for stringing together beautiful sentences? That’s optional.
Grit sustains you when passion fades. And there are times when it will fade. You’ll get boring clients. You’ll write about topics that make you yawn. You’ll revise the same email sequence for the fifth time. In those moments, passion won’t help you. Grit will.
The gritty writer shows up anyway. They do the work. They meet the deadline. And here’s the really cool part: competence often creates passion. As you get better, the work becomes more enjoyable. Suddenly you’re passionate about things you once found tedious.
2. Can Grit Raise Your Talent and Passion Levels?
Absolutely. This is where grit can flip the script.
Talent isn’t necessarily fixed. It can be developed through deliberate practice. (For Michael Jordan, that meant hours of daily training, including shooting 1,000 shots a day.)
For B2B copywriters, this means studying high-performing content. It means testing different approaches. It means actively seeking feedback from clients and peers.
Most writers practice just by writing more. That’s good — but not always enough. Deliberate practice is focused and intentional. You identify specific weaknesses. You work on them systematically. You measure improvement.
Here’s what this looks like in use. Maybe your headlines are weak. You spend a month studying effective headlines. You write 50 variations for every project. You track which ones get the best response. You analyze why. That’s deliberate practice.
Do this consistently, and your talent level rises. Not overnight! But over months and years, the compound effect is remarkable. The writer who practices deliberately for years will outperform the naturally talented writer who coasts.
Grit also cultivates genuine passion. When you see your skills improving, something shifts. You start enjoying challenges that once intimidated you. Client feedback becomes exciting instead of scary. You begin seeking harder projects because you know you can handle them.
This creates a powerful feedback loop:
- Effort leads to improvement…
- Improvement builds confidence…
- Confidence increases enjoyment…
- Enjoyment fuels more effort.
Before you know it, you’re passionate about work that once felt like a grind.
Many freelancers start out uncertain and overwhelmed. But they stick with it. They practice deliberately. Within a couple of years, they’re the writers others ask for advice. Not because they had more talent at the start. But because they had more grit.
3. Can You Increase Your Own Grit?
Yes. In Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance, Duckworth shows us these four ways to develop it:
Interest
Find aspects of B2B copywriting that genuinely engage you. Maybe you love the research phase. Maybe you enjoy the strategy discussions with clients. Maybe you’re fascinated by what makes people take action. Find your hook and lean into it.
Practice
Create systems for continuous improvement. Set aside time each week to study. Join communities where you can get feedback. (AWAI has a lot!) Analyze both your successes and your setbacks. Make practice a non-negotiable part of your routine.
Purpose
Connect your work to something larger. You’re not just writing emails. You’re helping businesses grow. You’re solving real problems. You’re enabling companies to communicate their value clearly. When you see your work through this lens, endurance becomes easier.
Hope
Maintain a growth mindset. Every setback is temporary. Every failure is feedback. When a client ghosts you, it’s not about your worth as a writer. It’s information about fit, timing, or your pitch approach. Gritty people view obstacles as puzzles to solve, not evidence of inadequacy.
Practical Ways to Build Grit as a Freelancer
- Create a daily writing practice, even if it’s just 30 minutes.
- Track your improvement over time.
- Build accountability with other writers.
- When you face rejection, analyze it objectively instead of emotionally.
- Develop a long-term vision for your business.
Remember grit develops through challenges. The difficulties you’re facing right now aren’t signs you’re in the wrong field. They’re the resistance that builds your capacity to persist.
The Long Game
Freelancing rewards grit more than almost any other trait. There’s no boss to keep you accountable. No steady paycheck to fall back on. No clear path from Point A to Point B. You have to create your own structure, motivation, and momentum.
This is why so many talented people fail at freelancing while determined people thrive. The talented writer expects things to come easily. When they don’t, there’s no plan B. The gritty writer expects obstacles. They’re prepared for the long haul.
Your grit gives you a competitive advantage. While others quit after six months of struggle, you’re building skills and connections. While others chase overnight success, you’re compounding small improvements. While others wait for passion to strike, you’re showing up and doing the work.
Success in freelance B2B copywriting isn’t about being the best writer on day one. It’s about being the writer who’s still here on day one thousand. The one who kept learning, kept improving, and kept showing up even when it was hard.
That writer can be you. Because you’re willing to be the grittiest.
As Michael Jordan said, “Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen.”
Be one who makes it happen. Because the question isn’t whether you have enough talent or passion right now. The question is whether you’re willing to develop both through sustained effort over time. If you are, your freelance career isn’t in doubt. It’s just getting started.
You can read about my personal “grit-growing” in the blog post series I’m writing for B2B Writers International. I hope you’ll find it inspiring.