Why You Have a Lot of Grit Left in You… Even If You Think You’re About to Throw in the Towel

(A Jack Hopkins memo for people who refuse to be spectators)

Why You Have a Lot of Grit Left in You… Even If You Think You’re About to Throw in the Towel

(A Jack Hopkins memo for people who refuse to be spectators)

The Jack Hopkins Now Newsletter #519: Tuesday, September 2nd, 2025.

Let me start with an impolite truth: you’re not “out of grit.” You’re out of structure. You don’t need a hug. You need a plan with a stopwatch.

Grit is not a feeling. It’s a habit of execution practiced long enough that your excuses get bored and leave. When you say, “I’m done,” what you’re really saying is, “I’ve been playing without a system and I’m exhausted.” Good. Now we can fix something real.

This is a letter about agency…your agency…in a moment when a lot of noise is invested in convincing you you’re powerless. You aren’t.

You are more influential in the outcome of what happens to our freedom than you’ve ever imagined. I’ll show you where the leverage is…how to use it…and how to build the daily machinery that makes “grit” a byproduct…not a miracle.

No pep talk. Marching orders.

I. The Two Lies That Steal Your Grit

Lie #1: “My tank is empty.”

No. Your inputs are garbage…your calendar is porous…and your wins are undocumented…so your brain can’t see progress. You’re not depleted; you’re demoralized.

Lie #2: “I’m only one person; it doesn’t matter.”

Every bad actor in history has counted on you believing this. Meanwhile…every meaningful win I’ve ever seen…political…commercial…personal…was a stack of small… disciplined actions by individuals who refused to outsource their agency.

We break both lies the same way: install structure that manufactures momentum and converts emotion into action.

II. Proof-of-Life: You Still Have Fuel

A quick drill. Set a timer for 10 minutes. Write:

1. Three hard things you’ve done in the past 10 years you once thought you couldn’t.

2. Three setbacks you absorbed and kept moving anyway.

3. Three people you helped materially (money…time…introductions…advocacy).

This isn’t therapy. It’s calibration. You just produced evidence that you persist…adapt… and contribute. Grit lives here. We’ll now give it a job.

III. The Four Irrefutables of Grit (Write these down)

1. Calendar beats mood. If it isn’t scheduled…it’s sentimental.

2. Systems beat heroics. Grit is repeatable process…not adrenaline.

3. Narrow lanes scale. Pick three lanes and overdeliver; scattershot dies broke.

4. Reps beat talent. You don’t need inspiration. You need repetition.

Tape that to your monitor. You’ll forget everything else before lunch; these will still work.

IV. Your Five Levers of Influence (The places real people move real outcomes)

You cannot solve “America” by Tuesday. You can move levers that compound into outcomes. Here they are:

Money:

Small amounts…strategically directed…move needles (local races…legal defense… watchdogs).

Message:

Words placed in the right venue at the right time tilt public opinion (letters to the editor…board statements…op-eds…viral posts that are useful…not noisy).

Meetings:

Bodies in chairs still scare politicians. Two dozen citizens in a silent room can change a vote.

Metrics:

Receipts beat rants. Data…documents…and timelines corner bad policy.

Multipliers:

Recruiters…introducers…donors. You might be one introduction away from solving a fight that yelling won’t.

Your job is not to “do everything.” Your job is to choose a lane and pull a lever daily.

V. The 30-Day Turnaround (How to manufacture grit on demand)

This is the exact operating system I’d hand you if we were across the table with black coffee and a pen. Do this for 30 days. You will not recognize yourself on day 31.

A. The Daily Power Block (45–60 minutes…non-negotiable)

1. Money Move (15 min):

2. One outbound action that moves money to the right place. Donate $10 to a targeted local effort. Set up a $15 weekly to a legal watchdog. Pay for one student’s ride to a council meeting. Money is moral when it moves what matters.

3. Influence Move (20–30 min):

   • Write: a 200–300 word letter to the editor with one fact and one ask…or a public comment for an upcoming meeting.

   • Call: one official’s office with a single…measurable request (“Please vote no on item 7C and publish the vendor contract”).

   • Document: file a public-records request. Ask for the policies…audits… retention schedules…not because it feels good…but because documents win.

4. Strength Move (10–15 min): Read one page of a budget; skim one policy; learn one rule of order. Power accrues to those who read what others won’t.

Put this on your calendar at the same time every day. Protect it like a court date.

B. The Weekly Cadence (repeat for 4 weeks)

• Monday: Identify one meeting (school board…city council…commission). Put it on your calendar.

• Tuesday: Draft your public comment (120 seconds). Practice out loud.

• Wednesday: Recruit two people to attend with you. Bribe with coffee if you must.

• Thursday: Place a message (letter/op-ed/social post with one chart and one ask).

• Friday: Follow up: thank allies; document what changed; schedule next week’s target.

• Weekend: Prep: pre-write next week’s public comment; template an email; set your calls.

C. The Scoreboard (so your brain sees progress)

Every Friday at 4:00 p.m., fill this in:

• Money moves (count)

• Influence moves (count)

• Strength moves (count)

• New allies recruited (count)

• Specific wins (one line each)

If you don’t measure…you can’t manage. If you don’t manage…you can’t scale. Grit loves visible progress.

VI. The Influence Stack (from “just me” to “force multiplier”)

Here’s how one person scales without becoming a martyr:

1. Self-Discipline: Daily Power Block nailed 5 days a week.

2. Household: Enlist one family member in one lane (they pick).

3. Neighborhood: Start a ten-house text chain (trash pickup…zoning alerts…meeting reminders).

4. Institution: Adopt one local body (board…council…commission). Become the person who knows its rules and calendar better than its members.

5. Platform: Publish your two best assets monthly: a one-pager “How to Speak at City Council” and a monthly cheat sheet of upcoming votes. People will forward it. That’s multiplication without martyrdom.

You don’t need a million followers. You need a reliable circle of 20 who act when you ask…because you only ask when it matters.

VII. Objections File (and the answers that end them)

“I’m tired.”

Good. That means you’ve been caring. Now let’s stop wasting effort. The Power Block consolidates your caring into results. You’re not tired; you’ve been friction-burned. Structure is ointment.

“I’m too old.”

No…you’re seasoned. Every room you walk into has amateurs posturing as experts. Read the packet and you’ll run laps around them by Tuesday. Institutional memory wins fights without raising your voice.

“I’m too busy.”

Show me your calendar. I’ll show you where 45 minutes are being bled by doom-scrolling and energy vampires. Replace three “quick checks” with one Power Block; you’ll feel stronger, not busier.

“It’s too late.”

History is written by those who kept showing up after others declared it over. “Too late” is usually code for “I don’t have a plan I trust.” Borrow mine for a month. Then we’ll see.

“I don’t have a platform.”

You need five responsive people…a meeting calendar…and a template. Build a tiny list; deliver one useful thing weekly (what’s on the agenda + one-sentence plain English). Authority arrives when you prove you read.

VIII. The Three Battles You’re Actually In (and how to win them)

1) Attention:

The side that frames the issue first…wins a head start. Your job: write the frame before the meeting. Two sentences: “This is about X. It costs Y. We ask Z.” Put it in the record.

2) Time:

Bad decisions accelerate when no one slows the process. Use procedure to buy time: table it…remand it…request a staff report…demand an audit. Time is oxygen for truth.

3) Friction:

Complexity and vagueness are how bad actors win. Force specificity: “Which statute authorizes this? Which vendor? Which retention policy? What’s the penalty for misuse?” Paper them. Paper wins.

IX. Scripts…Templates…and Tactics (because grit loves easy buttons)

Two-line phone script:

“Hi, I’m [Name], a constituent at [ZIP]. I’m asking you to vote NO on item 7C and publish the vendor contract and retention policy before the vote. I’ll be at the meeting.”

Two-sentence letter to the editor:

“Our council will vote on [X] next [date]. Before they do, the public deserves to see the contract and retention schedule. Transparency first, then choice.”

Public comment (120 seconds):

• Sentence 1: Frame (“This is about X, not Y.”)

• 3 bullets: Cost, Authority, Safeguards (missing).

• Sentence 2: Ask (“Post the contract, retention, and appeal policy or table it.”)

Recruit text:

“Need you Tues 7pm, 2 min, no speech. Sitting in the room changes votes. Coffee after. In?”

Follow-up note:

“Thank you for tabling 7C. Please publish contract + retention by Friday. We’ll be back Tuesday.”

Use these as-is until you write better ones. The point is motion.

X. The “Grit Flywheel” (make it spin)

1. Show up → you learn the process.

2. Learn the process → you spot the leverage.

3. Use leverage → you win a small thing.

4. Win a small thing → you recruit two people.

5. Recruit two people → you show up stronger next time.

6. Repeat → the other side starts reserving the room for you.

The first turn of the flywheel is heavy. The second is easier. By the fourth…you’re not “trying to have grit.” You’re the adult in the room…and everyone knows it.

XI. Power vs. Force (and why you’re stronger than you think)

Force is loud. It’s slogans, mobs, and TV.
Power is quiet. It’s calendars, budgets, and votes.

Force exhausts itself. Power accumulates. You don’t need to shout. You need to outlast by being the person who returns…with paperwork…after the cameras leave. The universe conspires for people who keep their appointments.

I’ve seen quiet power beat loud force too many times to pretend it’s complicated. It’s not. It’s discipline. Which you already have…remember the proof-of-life you wrote? We’re just giving it a job.

XII. The Contract (print this; sign it; stop negotiating with yourself)

For the next 30 days:

1. I will do the Daily Power Block (45–60 minutes) before anything optional.

2. I will attend one meeting weekly and deliver one public comment.

3. I will place one message in public each week (letter, op-ed, or useful post).

4. I will make one money move daily, even if it’s $5.

5. I will recruit two allies by asking directly, not hinting.

6. I will measure progress every Friday at 4 p.m. (scoreboard).

7. I will say no to one drag per week (a time-suck, a complainer, a pointless argument).

8. I will read one policy page per day; ignorance is a tax.

9. I will be polite, persistent, precise—and impossible to ignore.

10. I will show up again next month, stronger.

Sign. Date. Post where you can’t escape it.

XIII. Doing This (and the only motivation that lasts)

You have more grit left than you know.

Not because you’re a superhero. Because you’re human…and humans can do extraordinary things with ordinary systems repeated daily.

Stop auditioning for inspiration. Start keeping appointments.

Freedom isn’t protected by people who “feel like it.” It’s protected by people who work a plan when they don’t.

So here’s the last thing I’ll say…and it’s not soft: You are not allowed to be powerless in your own country. Not on my watch. Not while you have a pen…a phone…a calendar…and a spine.

Pick your lanes. Pull your levers. Run your system. Stack your wins.

Then come back and tell me…with a straight face…that you’re “out of grit.”

You won’t. You’ll be too busy being dangerous…in the best…most disciplined…most American sense of the word.

-Jack

P.S. If this moved you…move with it: put tomorrow’s Power Block on your calendar right now. Then forward this to two people you want in the room with you next week. Momentum loves company.