Some talk big…then fade away.
Others do what it takes…they find a way.

Rudy, the movie

One of the defining qualities of life’s winners is this thing I call “grit.” It’s stopping the talk and starting the walk.

Grit is about getting things done. It’s the night & day work it takes to succeed. It’s the “all in” commitment that “nothing will stand in my way.”

Grit is guts, resilience and staying power. While others discuss dreams, those with grit do something about it.

Our guest today is a portrait of grit. As you will learn, so was his dad. He is a friend, author, motivational speaker and personal hero of mine.

The Savvy Dad welcomes Notre Dame football legend, Rudy Ruettiger, subject of the movie ‘Rudy.’

Today we will dispel a misperception about Rudy’s dad. We’ll give you an inside glimpse of the real Daniel Ruettiger, the father behind Rudy’s great fame.

Tomorrow son Rudy will share his personal memory of a fateful night with his dad. It’s a story very few know; the evening Rudy’s dad saved his son’s life.

Here is an inside first person look at Rudy’s real dad:

“In the movie Rudy, my father was portrayed as a damper on my dream of playing for Notre Dame. That was creative license.

My father was an inspiration to my dreams, both in words and by example. There were 16 of us, 7 boys, 7 girls, Mom and Dad. Dad worked three jobs to support our big family. Yet he was in the stands for virtually all of our games.

Dad enlisted after high school and was a hero in the war. One of his missions was depicted in The Death of The Ball Turret Gunner, a poem by Randall Jarrell.

He flew B-17 bombing runs throughout Europe as a ball turret gunner. It was a virtual death sentence. Flight after flight, he was cramped into an exposed transparent bubble hanging beneath the plane. He could not wear a parachute in the turret, and was enemy fighter plane Target #1. That’s what Dad did in the war. He did what it took to support our huge family. He found a way to attend all of our games. Dad never talked about what he was going to do, he just did it.

What I learned from my dad is that accomplishment is not about talk. He’d tell us all, “Don’t talk about it, just go out and do it. The time to talk is after you’ve completed the walk.”

At 5’6”, I was too small to play football for Notre Dame. Few thought I had any chance of making the team. In the movie, Ned Beatty portrayed my dad. Sean Astin played me.

One scene in the film shows my dad saying, “Chasing stupid dreams causes nothing but (you), and everyone around you, heartache.” What Dad actually told me was that if Notre Dame was really my dream, I needed to stop talking and start doing.

He reminded me that I needed to go get the grades and go get in shape. Plain and simply, I needed to quit the talk and start the walk by taking each of the right steps.

I followed Dad’s advice. I stopped the big talk. I camped out in the library. I worked out at the gym. I made that team.

My dad defined who I am, what I teach and preach. It’s the core message in my book Rudy.

“ ‘Just get it done’ was a gift from my dad, and the key to my life.”