POUND THE STONE 7 Lessons to Develop Grit on the Path to Mastery Joshua Medcalf !1 Contents Chapter 1: Enough is Enough Chapter 2: Last Chance Chapter 3: Kaiya Chapter 4: Pound The Stone Chapter 5: The Smallest House on the Block Chapter 6: Do It Anyway Chapter 7: Defining Success Chapter 8: Cut The Ropes Chapter 9: Paper Ceilings Chapter 10: Inches and Nails Chapter 11: Focus On Your Strengths Chapter 12: Maintaining The Mask Chapter 13: Prison Chapter 14: Stop Counting Chapter 15: 1% Chapter 16: YOU, Inc. Chapter 17: A Wealth Of Wisdom Chapter 18: Grit Chapter 19: Sides To A Box Chapter 20: Persistence Chapter 21: “What do you know?” Chapter 22: Austin Chapter 23: Build Wisely Chapter 24: Failure Chapter 25: Door to Door Chapter 26: Early Hours Chapter 27: Back To School Chapter 28: Losing Season Chapter 29: “Travis…” Chapter 30: An Anchor For Your Soul Chapter 31: Moving On Chapter 32: Bring You Basketball Chapter 33: Layers and Light Chapter 34: The Path To Mastery Chapter 35: David Before Goliath Chapter 36: Blame vs. Responsibility Chapter 37: Sleep Through The Storms Chapter 38: Can’t Cheat The Person In The Mirror Chapter 39: Circumstance and Being Chapter 40: Authentic Vulnerability Chapter 41: A Rough Start !2 Chapter 42: Perspective Chapter 43: Control The Controllables Chapter 44: No Way Out Chapter 45: It Is What It Is Chapter 46: Whole On The Inside Chapter 47: No Shortcuts Chapter 48: Playing Present Chapter 49: Humble & Hungry Chapter 50: 10,000 Doors Chapter 51: “Be a man.” Chapter 52: Captain Chapter 53: Finally Chapter 54: Going First Chapter 55: Courage is Contagious Chapter 56: Changing The Echoes Chapter 57: Resistance Chapter 58: Sweep The Sheds Chapter 59: Who Do You Want To Be? Chapter 60: The Future Chapter 61: Going To The ‘Ship Chapter 62: The Stone Splits Chapter 63: You Aren’t Entitled To Your Dreams !3 We have also created a, Pound The Stone Training Manual, that is great for group discussions and personal introspection. It is available on Amazon. As you read, and after you finish, please share your favorite chapters, quotes, and excerpts on social media and tag me! Twitter: @joshuamedcalf Instagram: @realjoshuamedcalf !4 Chapter 1: ENOUGH IS ENOUGH “You’re done.” The words drove through Jason’s chest like an ice pick, and he felt the familiar rush of angry blood. WHAM!! Without thinking, he slammed his hand onto the desk in front of him. “That’s not fair! State finals are in two days!” he yelled. Across from him, Coach Michael’s tired face didn’t waver. This was the face of a man who’d had enough. “Doesn’t matter. I can’t have you on this team anymore, Jason. You punched an opposing player in the face. You almost lost us the game.” “You saw it, he was giving me cheap shots all game. Trey always does that! He had it coming!” “I don’t want excuses. I just want your gear turned in by 8 a.m. tomorrow.” Jason reeled, desperate. He knew he pushed the boundaries a lot, but he never thought it would go this far. His fists balled in rage, clenching and unclenching. “So this is how it goes, huh?” He glared at his Coach. “After all your talk about ‘team is family’?! I should have known you would quit on me, just like everyone else!” Michael snapped back at him angrily, “Jason, it’s only your freshmen year and you’ve already failed a drug test, been suspended twice, and accused of cheating on tests several times. I’ve done my best to make this work for both of us, but I’m not a magician. There are some mistakes I can’t cover you on. Enough is enough. You are off this basketball team, son.” Jason blinked, stunned. Those were words he’d never expected to hear. From the time he could walk, basketball was life. With a father in and out of prison, and with a single mother who worked two jobs, the game had become his anchor. He was good at it, too. It felt as natural as breathing. To Jason, a life without basketball was a life without breathing. Emotion choked him, but he shoved it down. If there was one thing he’d learned growing up on the streets, it was that men don’t cry: they fight. He knew he had one last shot at changing !5 Michael’s mind, so he had to appeal to what he cared about more than anything else: winning. “Coach, I scored 28 points in the semis. You know you can’t win State without me!” Coach’s eyes flashed. Winning really may have been the thing he cared about most, and Jason was easily one of his best players. He had the kind of raw natural talent that could shift a game on a dime, and it had led them to several clutch wins already that season. But after a second, that hungry look in Michael’s eyes faded. It was replaced with resolution instead. “You know what? You’re probably right. You have incredible natural talent, Jason. But you’re too big of a liability. I’ve made some poor choices to indulge your complete lack of character in the past, but those stop now. I don’t even want you sitting on the bench at State. Besides the state board would most likely suspend you for three games anyway, so this is on you, not me. Your choice has created your challenge. You’ve lost the privilege to be a part of this team.” Jason blinked, and a roar like a stereo blast turned up in his ears. His jaw clenched tight, his chest heaved as he stood up, drawing all six-foot-four of himself to his full height. With his bright bleached Mohawk, he stood even taller. Most people got intimidated by his physical presence, but not Coach. He was still talking. Still, Jason was too angry to listen. He felt the rage building inside him, and as he turned to leave, it happened: without thinking, Jason drew back-- WHAM!! He punched his clenched fist straight through the drywall of the office. The drywall powdered and caved in easily enough, but the thick wood behind it didn’t. They both heard the sound at the same time: a loud hollow POP! like a piece of wood snapping. As the lightning bolt of pain slashed up Jason’s forearm, he knew that he’d just broken a lot more than some drywall. !6 Chapter 2: LAST CHANCE “I can’t believe I’m saying this. But you have one last chance.” Pacing in front of Jason was Scott Miles, Athletic Director for the Midvale High Raiders. He stopped and looked Jason in the eye. “To be honest, you don’t deserve it. But thanks to your coach and your team captain, you’re getting it.” A week had passed since Jason put his fist through that office wall. The cast covering his hand itched, frustrating him. At first he faced expulsion, but after Coach Michael had calmed down, a solution was presented. It wasn’t perfect, but it was better than being off the team for good. So Jason did his best to play along, “So, I’m doing this all summer?” Coach nodded, handing Jason a flyer. “Yes. The program is twelve weeks. You’ll start with a week of sales training, then you’ll hit the streets.” “All I have to do is sell books door to door, and I get to keep a percentage of the sales?” “If it sounds easy, let me tell you right now: it’s not. This isn’t exactly summer camp. Many of the students who sign up, never finish. If you’re one of them, that’s that; you’ll never play ball in this district again.” “But if I finish, I’m back on the team?” “Finish? You’re going to need to do a lot more than finish. You have to hit the numbers.” Jason just grinned. “C’mon, Coach. I’ll hit the numbers. How many do I need to sell?” “Two hundred.” “Easy enough.” Jason was feeling good. Michael chuckled, “Not two hundred total, son. Two hundred per book.” “Oh... how many books are there?” !7 “Take a look.” Jason scanned the list of books on the sheet -- The Slight Edge Chop Wood Carry Water Grit The Only Way to Win Daring Greatly In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day Six. Jason’s smile fell as he did the quick math. 1,200 books. That was a LOT of books. A.D. Miles noticed and chuckled. “Like he said, Jason: this will be the toughest summer of your life. Twelve to fourteen hours a day of pounding the streets. You still want to sign up?” Jason nodded, resolved. “If it means I can play ball again, then I’m in.” Miles shrugged. “Alright, then. Do you have the release?” Jason handed over the form, which his mother had signed after discussing it with Coach. The program meant Jason would be staying in a stranger’s home all summer, covering a territory at least two hours from home. But after the past year of dealing with her son’s disciplinary issues, his mother didn’t think twice. “When I was 14, I had to drop out of school to work ten hours a day in a cannery. Don’t tell me you think selling books is harder, young man.