Grit Mindset with Matt Rosen

We're kicking off Season 2 of The Grit Mindset with a bold perspective: the next five years could challenge more leaders than the last two decades combined.

From artificial intelligence and shifting capital markets to disappearing management roles and mounting pressure, we're breaking down five forces reshaping leadership and why the strategies that brought us success in the past may not be enough to carry us forward.

This season, we're taking our conversations deeper to explore the challenges, sacrifices, and decisions that shape who we become. Because grit isn't just about pushing through adversity. It's about having the courage to adapt, rebuild, and let go of what's holding us back.

What happens when you're pushed to your limits and start questioning whether you have what it takes to keep going?

In this second Best Of episode of The Grit Mindset with Matt Rosen, we revisit powerful conversations about perseverance, courage, and the mindset it takes to push through life's toughest challenges.

From a drill sergeant's simple advice to keep going until you physically can't, to the extraordinary experiences of military veterans navigating dangerous missions and life-changing moments, these stories reveal what grit looks like when the stakes are high.

Through firsthand accounts of Special Forces training, combat operations, and overcoming adversity, we're reminded that resilience isn't always about having all the answers. Sometimes it's about refusing to quit before you've discovered what you're capable of.

What do you do when you’ve bet everything and it isn’t working yet?

This Best Of episode pulls together the moments from Season 1 that stuck with me most: founders who risked their savings, leaders who walked away from safe careers, and people who stayed in the fight when the doubt got loud.

No highlight reel. Just the decisions nobody sees, and what they cost.

Because the hard parts don’t just test you. They decide who you become.

Veronica Schnitzius grew up in Medellín, Colombia, during a time when violence and uncertainty were part of everyday life.

Years later, she arrived in Dallas with $500, determined to build something different.

Her path took her from industrial engineer to president of American Leather—but that journey was filled with moments that tested her confidence, resilience, and ability to lead.

In this episode of The Grit Mindset with Matt Rosen, Veronica shares how she learned to stand her ground as a young woman in manufacturing, why great mentors helped change the trajectory of her career, and how she worked her way through the company by taking on one challenge after another.

Her story is a powerful example of what can happen when you refuse to let your circumstances define where you're going.

Watch the full episode of The Grit Mindset with guest Veronica Schnitzius on YouTube.

Shane Spillers learned about entrepreneurship long before he became an entrepreneur himself.

He watched his parents build a business—and later watched that business collapse. Years later, after leaving the corporate world to join his family's restaurant business, Shane experienced another lesson: early success doesn't guarantee that you're ready to scale.

Two restaurants were home runs. The third exposed the cracks.

In this episode of The Grit Mindset with Matt Rosen, Shane talks about the failures and challenges that shaped the way he approaches business today, from getting the right people in the right seats to creating clarity, accountability, and discipline within a team.

His definition of grit says a lot about his journey: keep showing up and executing even when the results haven't caught up yet.

Today, he's using those lessons to help other entrepreneurs build stronger businesses.

Watch the full episode of The Grit Mindset with guest Shane Spillers on YouTube.

Matt McGaughey had already built a successful career when life forced him to reconsider what mattered most.

When he and his wife faced a difficult season trying to grow their family, Matt made the decision to step away and focus on home. That choice eventually helped lead him down a new path—entrepreneurship.

Today, Spinakr Solutions has grown from Matt simply raising his hand and asking, “How can I help?” into a global organization serving clients around the world.

In this episode of The Grit Mindset with Matt Rosen, McGaughey talks about building a business, learning to let go as a founder, surrounding yourself with people you trust, and creating a culture that puts people first.

He also shares his perspective on navigating AI and rapid change, why leaders need to listen before they act, and the importance of knowing when to stay the course—and when to adjust it.

Because grit doesn't always mean stubbornly following the original plan. Sometimes it means listening to the wind, changing direction, and continuing forward.

Gabe Moreno thought he was ready to lead the school that had already been such a big part of his life.

They told him he wasn't.

Instead of letting that rejection define him, Gabe left, gained new experience, developed as a leader, and kept moving forward.

Years later, Bishop Dunne called him back—this time to become president.

In this episode of The Grit Mindset with Matt Rosen, Gabe talks about what those years taught him about failure, perseverance, leadership, and why being told "not yet" doesn't mean "never."

He also shares why today's world of convenience may be making it harder for the next generation to tolerate frustration—and why learning to fail might be one of the most valuable skills we can teach.

Watch the full conversation on The Grit Mindset with Matt Rosen's YouTube channel.

At 18, Ted Clouser arrived in Arkansas with $400 in his pocket and faxed his résumé to every computer company he could find.

One hired him.

Twenty years later, he owned it.

But becoming the owner exposed a problem Ted never saw coming: he had spent two decades building a company around himself. Every question led to the same answer—“Ask Ted.”

When he tried to step into a different role, the business struggled to function without him, beginning one of the most difficult seasons of his life.

In this episode of The Grit Mindset with Matt Rosen, Ted talks about rebuilding the business, rebuilding himself, and the advice from his wife that helped change his perspective:

Stop trying to solve the next 18 months. Win today.

It’s a conversation about leadership, resilience, family, and learning that being indispensable isn't always the same thing as building something sustainable.

Watch the full episode of The Grit Mindset with Matt Rosen.

Homero Gonzalez grew up just 13 miles from downtown Dallas in a neighborhood with no grocery store and no restaurants. Decades later, his path would take him through the Dallas Museum of Art, SMU, sales, the West Texas oilfields, and eventually entrepreneurship.

Then he put everything he had on the line to buy half of his father-in-law’s struggling painting company.

In Homero’s words, the business was already “in the grave being covered up.” He decided to pull it out and resuscitate it.

In this episode of The Grit Mindset with Matt Rosen, Homero shares the lessons that shaped him—from staring at an empty commission box on the last Friday of the month to the mentor who gave him a set of golf clubs and one year to change his trajectory.

He also shares the question he asks himself every morning: Am I destroying wealth, or am I creating it?

Four years into building his company, Homero describes the business as a toddler—messy, bruised, stumbling, but growing. It’s an honest conversation about entrepreneurship, risk, resilience, and the grit it takes to keep building when success is anything but guaranteed.

Seven years ago, Jeff Crilley told Matt Rosen he needed a podcast. Matt said no. This episode exists because Jeff didn’t give up—which turns out to be a theme throughout his life.

Jeff grew up a poor kid in Detroit before spending 25 years in TV news. He stretched a ten-week internship to fifteen until he got caught, then talked his way into a job that didn’t exist. Years later, he left the only career he’d ever known to start Real News PR from his living room with just 30 business cards.

In this episode of The Grit Mindset, Matt and Jeff talk about turning fear into fight, the difficult clients who teach you the most, and the small changes that can completely alter your direction. Jeff also shares how his daughter helped him see the future of the company he built—and why he almost said no to that, too.

If you’ve ever wondered whether you have what it takes to make the leap, this episode is for you.