Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance | Angela Duckworth | Talks at Google

Author Angela Duckworth visited Google's office in NYC to discuss her book, "Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance" with Ben Fried, Google's CIO and Site Lead in NYC.
In GRIT, Angela Duckworth explores the science of why some people succeed and others fail, and why talent alone doesn’t guarantee success. She shows us that perseverance and passion matter at least as much as talent and intelligence.
Angela Duckworth, PhD, is a 2013 MacArthur Fellow and professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania. An expert in non-I.Q. competencies, she has advised the White House, the World Bank, NBA and NFL teams, and Fortune 500 CEOs. Prior to her career in research, she taught children math and science and was the co-founder of a summer school for low-income children that won the Better Government Award from the state of Massachusetts. She completed her BA in neurobiology at Harvard, her MSc in neuroscience at Oxford, and her PhD in psychology at the University of Pennsylvania. More recently, she co-founded the Character Lab, a nonprofit whose mission is to advance the science and practice of character development in children.

[@poopsiedoo5049]

This lady has shed light on the real truth that busted conventional thinking. As an example of grit I think back to my sister. Growing up she didn't exhibit any special talent that our other brothers had. Everyone in the family had high hopes for the male siblings and was not focused on the female sibling. The only peculiar characteristic about my sister was her keen efforts towards her goals, her tenacity. My brother and I had talents in IQ, memory, and school grades but we gloated in our natural abilities and became lazy about things while my poor sister had to plug hard away at learning. She was thrilled about medicine and had set a goal early in life to become a doctor. Well, she got into Medical school at Tufts University in Chicago by a fed program to improve minority representation back in the 1980s. We brothers couldn't believe the horrendous mountains of medical things she had to learn. That kind of dedication was not for us lazy boys, who didn't know still what we wanted to be. No way. But, for my sister, she didn't complain. Not only did she graduate from Medical school, but she additionally picked up not 1 but 2 medical fellowships specialties (in internal medicine and emergency medicine), and became an instructor at Harvard U. Medical school. She is now a roving contract ER doc substituting for vacationing doctors across the country. In fact, if you talk to her now, she sounds full of grit with a fast mind that makes people think she's more talented and smarter than us brothers who've managed only a Masters's degree. And she makes 5x as much as we do too. So, passion and perseverance are the true formulas for success, not merely talent. As Thomas Edison said, "Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration."

[@xinwang6125]

thanks for you detailed and inspirational story to make more sense of the Grit is the key component to achieving my goals.

[@johnpinheiro6211]

Aaaa

[@SohaNoha]

You can throw any question at her and she will just answer like a boss!

[@PetrGladkikh]

Not a good sign, BTW. All people who know their shit have a lot to be uncertain at.

[@mrsonepro]

Petr Gladkikh then what is she supposed to do, smart-ass? Keep saying “i dont know” ?

[@torolsen9058]

@@mrsonepro I think shes saying jadajadajada to everything.

[@juzores1]

@@PetrGladkikh her answers were convincing logical and satisfying ,so where this not a good sign come from ?she is cleary mastered her topic and clearly she is obsessed with it .

[@TanpaNama-cj5sb]

I dont thingk that mr soha noha wanted to say something bad to her. It just a package in her that we should accept in a good way. She just human like us :).

[@trevorndhlovu7834]

"The only skill we are born with is knowing how to learn"Angela Duckworth

[@orestesvega2475]

She runs for fun, LOL; champions run for a gold medal.

[@acfa383]

and we really are born not knowing how to even do that, we are born knowing nothing and we just learn how to learn as the time goes by we discover mistakes we did in the process of learning itself and it's basically what she started with on "deliberate practice"

[@trevorndhlovu7834]

@@acfa383 BOOM!!!! That's extra-ordinary Achaq.

[@rognex]

I love this.❤️

[@sachisas]

@@acfa383 p

[@durgaprasada226]

5:53 - Deliberate Practice - 1. Specific Goal 2. Focus 3. Feedback 4. Refinement

[@CeritaFandaVancouver]

She is so encouraging in so many ways

[@IceColdProfessional]

I love her.

[@mx-5miata658]

You so hawwny. Will you luuuv me long time?

[@marvybaguio9223]

She has that holistic beauty. Brilliant talk on grit. Love it!

[@pantocity2]

“I am glad that I didn’t marry my first boyfriend!”. Great answer to the question about how do you find out what to be gritty about . Explore with purpose.

[@bingparinas1599]

Wow! Admirable! Amazing woman of passion and intellect!

[@GeoffreyGraham2]

32:25 Great question. I often think the same thing. How do you know what area to have grit about. Having Graduated from college and having new skills abilities and knowledge is a great thing. But no one wants to waste time on a project of 'grit' that has no fruit. Angela's answer hit the nail on the head. We need to think about your motivational drives and interests.

[@kathynaples4392]

I believe that the question of finding which project deserves grit is part of the question of critical thinking and planning about the arena in which one wishes to live.

[@ianraeestores4212]

That man's question is actually what I'm thinking for years after graduating in college.

[@imacg5]

This boils down to "meaning in life" (not "of" life), or what you find meaningful in your life. John Vervaeke's theory of Relevance Realization provides a good perspective and some practical advice on the subject.

[@ResistAverageAcademy]

WOW! I am blown away by Angela and have taken SO many notes. Thank you for sharing this deep rooted wisdom that is both INSPIRATIONAL and ACTIONABLE!

[@khalidelgazzar]

This is definitely one of the best (if not the best) interviews about the book. Thank you Angela & Google

[@childofforest]

Living deliberately is hard. 34:00 loved this part about in finding an inner compass. Moral missions and interest.

[@inayachaudhary7084]

Excellent! I loved every second of this gritty talk and I admire the way you were so vulnerable in your answers. Way to go gritty girl

[@angeltrades3844]

Absolutely Amazing. I was awestruck the entire time. Simply fascinating. I'm buying the book Thank You Angela Duckworth.

[@alfig001]

I would add that success breeds success.. even small victories will add up and build confidence.

[@ramanlakhera1955]

Fascinating talk by Angela.. Kudos to her beautiful work on grit. The best take away was compund interest is the eighth wonder of world. And if compounded in a particular inclination then it can do wonders.

[@AndreaSamadi]

Very thorough interview on Grit. Excellent once you have read the book and viewed the Ted Talk. I liked hearing about the discrepancies for measuring Grit and other Character Attributes.

[@JohnMcIlroyTax]

Love listening to Angela.

[@LumeoEdits]

Goosebumps of practical inspiration :D I love Angela Duckworth

[@IceColdProfessional]

Yes, I love her too.

[@listharibaenanda7391]

I am motivated just by seeing she talks.

[@FRNKNSTNmusic]

“I’ll show you” for me is related to the sense of purpose and mission she described. It’s a public service to show ppl something they didn’t believe in before.

[@ikennao5299]

hi from Nigeria, I read and loved the book. I realized I had grit and did my research and came across her book, which explains exactly what I'm going through. also Eric Thomas and tony Robison explains Grit through motivation.

[@carl2072]

Grit is up there with one of the most insightful books I’ve read. Highly recommend.

[@primatrader]

100% intelligent and strong woman! I love her!

[@arlinegeorge6967]

Loved this great interview. Beautiful and inspiring. Thank you. Love and peace to all

[@itsmylife8639]

Impressive. Thanks for posting.

[@coreyli3628]

As always, I love her talk.

[@RMalai]

Two great personalities. Love the talk.

[@jamesmichaelwalker683]

The power of passion and perseverance! Great book! Love her work!

[@Invisible.fatty99]

For gritty kids I think a portion is kids being allowed to explore those passions. Being encouraged to learn outside of school, being encouraged to learn for life, etc

[@jokosalacup8640]

3 years ago, I did aspiration study for my undergraduate thesis and I missed the concept of "Grit" to build the character development of my respondents.'though, there were no academic-related readings by that time, I'm really glad that I discovered Dr. Lee-Duckworth's study. :-)

[@mx-5miata658]

@@FunWorld918 Why do you South Asians ALWAYS start with "Sir" ??? You're not writing a letter to the CEO of a company. You're writing to some random stranger on a social media platform.

[@theducksneezes4987]

Tips to self motivation: (33:15 to 35:30) 1) Memory Lane to drive job 2) Higher purpose (align w interest) * Need 3rd circle for Reality

[@IceColdProfessional]

All her accomplishments show she lives what she preaches.

[@wilwan01]

If you've ever come to Cambridge UK and did punting there, you'll appreciate the number one rule for punting is to let it go when the pole gets stuck in the water, as otherwise you the punter will get pulled into water instead of pulling the pole out from the water. It taught me a precise point when to let it go and when to have grit.

[@tsunghan_yu]

What happens after you lose the pole?

[@ScottDuncanCoaching]

Deliberate practice running analogies are really good!

[@bathtub_farter]

This woman can speak. That's for sure.

[@orca3205]

Very good point about the standard used to consider oneself is gritty in the society that person lives in.

[@MANIAKRA]

This is an amazing talk, I agree with her observations

[@DuyenNguyen-cm1tv]

P

[@dr.jayaramanph.d1185]

Didn't read your book . It seems the book throws a great enlightenment in the area of Passion , Hardworking, Presvervance , motivation etc Let your services through grit serve the humanity greatly .

[@Bevanmusiq]

Love this! love the book!♥

[@bngnyc]

it's fascinating and eye opening, wow!

[@abhyudaychakraborty3818]

Great talk everyone should hear

[@reanovel1426]

Love this!

[@thiagoccmorais]

Great interview!

[@basemkhourma5163]

Thank you very much for this talk. I have my definition of Giftedness or Talent: The definition of Talent or Giftedness Giftedness or Talent: The possession of special potential in a subject that has no scientific pillars.

[@davesmith4196]

She is right on point. The thinks that I have succeeded on in my life have been the ones where I applied grit and just worked hard on them and tried to do it well and did a good job. And many of those I actually had little passion for - I didn't really enjoy doing the, just did them because I decided to and made the best of it while doing it. Might was well be happy doing this thing rather than miserable.

[@davesmith4196]

Then there have been other things that I have had passion for - enjoyed doing them, did them for fun, easy to wake up for that, etc. But I just went and did it and had fun. And I got better at it up to a certain level, then reach a plateau. What I get listening to her, is that with a bit of application of grit also to those things that I have passion for, it is likely that I can "succeed" at those to a higher level of success in competitions, etc. I have just been having fun doing the things that I have passion for and not trying that hard, working at it consistently as that might make the thing I have passion for less fun. I do know that I gain life satisfaction from those things I have succeeded on due to just grit without particular passion. Anyway, she makes good points.

[@michaelletho5952]

Thank you.

[@jorgeson3586]

Learning to play a musical instrument well embodies all those elements

[@laughthinkeattravel]

Congrats on your creativity.

[@RajKumar-gd6tu]

You are a fascinating personality. May God love you more!

[@emekeh]

Wow! The key word for me is "deliberate practice".

[@opeyemilashinde6387]

You really do inspire me Angela

[@alexlimion2624]

Just Amazing

[@ueang]

thank you very much!

[@iot3136]

Thank you Prof. Duckworth I got the answer to Q at 51:25 51:42

[@arunabrunel9861]

Seems like she's from "Soul" so motivated and motivational

[@acfa383]

Well I couldn't help but think that the movie "soul" was probably inspired by her work hihi

[@kingconan4crom]

Grit is not the secret to perseverance and success, LOVE is. Truly, If Angela Duckworth is a mother who loves her child or children she herself would agree.

[@JJovich]

I'm astonished that her answer to the last question about being an underdog didn't raise the topic of Locus of Control.

[@InfiniteDyad]

"People who succeed fail all the time"

[@yubstep]

apparently Donald Trump never got that memo

[@deliapearsall6334]

@Darryl Develops I heard that Bro!!!

[@DevinMacGregor]

@Darryl Develops Trump leases his name out. He more than likely figuratively and literally did not build that hotel. His property management company probably did the project management in the development of said hotel or his company runs the property management for said hotel. There are other buildings to where they took his name off the building..

[@user-gi5wq3yd3h]

2+2=5

[@disneyfun8208]

@@yubstep for real 😂

[@LawGeekChanel]

I like her book.

[@gennyyustika9176]

i like this convo

[@kevinrobinson8710]

Love her

[@ScottDuncanCoaching]

I seen that all the way through, tiny bit of grit demo right there!

[@IceColdProfessional]

It doesn't take Grit to listen to Angela speak. She an American icon, a gem, and I love her. Not "in love", but love in a purely platonic, big sister, mother, boss-who-I-like sort of way.

[@GreatMan_from_East]

Interest + purpose/value + reality of earning money

[@simplecookingforasimplelif3911]

Simple idea, just starting her book!

[@arnedebeste007]

How was the book?

[@emekeh]

11:43 'Failure provides an opportunity for information'

[@EunbiKimchanel]

it's awesome

[@bluestotstv2893]

Grit can only be known for a person, if you will test him/her on a particular job with difficulty.

[@hartinimashod2737]

May I know what’s the name of the journal article that study predictive factors of academic success on 4000 UK students? It's the question from 45:09. Many thanks!

[@Hotpocketmountiandew]

I never understood the importance of cutting out junk miles until I decided to try a lead man. After reading up on Travis Macy.

[@krishnarajbastola50]

Good luck 😃

[@ysabelcarballo886]

I also read Julia Child's book! :)

[@kirilllosik7054]

Fantastic interview, Angela, thanks a lot! I wonder if it would be possible to find correlation between the least grittiest countries (Japan, Korea, China), and the Happiest countries in the world (Scandinavian)? What if the happiest countries are actually the most miserable? How to figure out what's actually going on?!

[@farahanjum730]

A data point: Finland has one of the highest suicide rates in the world. So I think the method to calculate the "happiness" quotient in that study wasn't comprehensive enough.

[@farahanjum730]

Not to mention the infamous intoversion that all Finns possess.

[@mostlyvertical8631]

Overall, very helpful. I have read and recommend the book. See 39:30; Nancy said "Just Say No"... doesn't that really tell you everything you need to know?

[@cheetah2882]

She is my rule model!

[@mdwahiduzzamanmazmader8711]

IT IS I WHO AM BEING FELT PROUD AT THE TIME OF HEARING MY COMMENTS ARE BEING PRAISED BY THE RESPECTED PERSONS.I FEEL GRATITUDE TO THE SAID PERSONS WHO ARE BEING DISCUSSED ABOUT MY EXPRESSIONS WHICH HAVE ALREADY BEEN EXPRESSED BY MAZMADER.MAY GOD /ALLAH ALWAYS SAVE AND BLESS US AL.

[@charles5272]

Very good 👍

[@ASMZafar]

This is so great. I would like to have the Questionnaire to measure Grit. Can anyone tell me how can i get it.....?

[@JoelElder2013]

A.S.M. Zafar she has the GRIT questionnaire at the end of her book.

[@flareofnyx]

it's also on her website

[@TheDionysianFields]

She seems highly competitive...rivalrous.

[@DJSTOEK]

Thanks

[@hir3npatel]

Fascinating talk, pity the sound quality is a little low.

[@talksatgoogle]

+Hiren Patel The audio quality has been corrected, thanks!

[@hir3npatel]

Thanks Talks at Google for sharing these sessions publicly, these talks are excellent.

[@naqib4235]

Use earphone/headphone, it's better.

[@Jdublifter]

Sounds fine on my iPhone.

[@f00kwhiteblackracismwarsh07]

I can’t believe I only find out about this video today. KZbin si d add hound he recommending me this kind of videos.

[@tashhashimi9483]

i am gonna steal a bunch of quotes from this interview, posted on FB, and pretend to be smart!

[@ellisha4185]

What if you’re stuck doing a degree that you don’t really like but don’t have the resources to get out? Such an inspiring talk btw I just discovered her and she’s really motivating.

[@someone1059]

are you from pakistan? Anyways I think this can be the worst thing a person can be up to specifically in our country but in my opinion to make it less torturous one can find side interests like let's say a subject that you will totally do for fun. For me it is mathematics and no matter what job I will end up doing, mathematics will reman a component, indeed a crucial one, of my life. So I think such side interests can be helpful and motivating and might function like life long friends and motivators.

[@endezeichengrimm]

Finish it. Use that skill to leverage a career that suits you better.

[@dweez4703]

Grit is developed through pain. There must be pain involved, blind faith so to speak.

[@pauloseputhenpurackal3135]

@John Grit omg

[@mihriomar5158]

So true

[@SohaNoha]

John Grit hi Jhon wow you are strong May Allah bless you. Stay strong !

[@tiesthijsthejs]

Hmm. If that's true, all successful people with grit, have had trauma to overcome. Sounds like survivorsbias. Indeed, those who overcome painful pressures, have strength. And maybe the most successful people on the tippy top, have shown the most ruthless grit and willingness to budge anyone else. But what many of them seem to have in common with successful people who didn't overcome trauma, is that both have reinforced internal positivity of self belief. You can breed internal belief by forcing someone via negative reinforcement, through which many don't make it anyway, and then carry that internal rejection forever (except for those who 'made it' but never found peace with themselves, forever stuck in propelling self-hatred, of whom most self-destruct). And then there's breeding belief via positive reinforcement. Many who got positive reinforcement also don't 'make it' as 'successful', but at least they won't have to have internalised selfhating negative reinforcement that will make them relentlessly unhappy, and instead they can be more satisfied stable people who just live lives. Most people won't be above-average 'successful' to begin with. We'll never be. This doesn't mean everybody needs to never go through rough elements. It just means life is already shitty by default. Maybe we can try not to always make everybody feel shitty about themselves by default, as a means to push them.

[@drinaciofernandes]

Where was this video all this years

[@Wilmington_Chronicles]

27:27 talks about "Sisu." i saw a trailer for a movie called Sisu and now knowing this the title is more interesting

[@humble_integrity]

haha, it's interesting. i started running because it was therapeautic, i watch the hours, pay attention to my rythm and i NEVER listen to music. im trying to pay attention to my body and my breath the entire time.

[@Ben22377]

Sounds very similar to the book "The slight edge" by jeff olsen

[@ricardocesargomes7274]

Estou estudando o livro desta pesquisadora...vale a pena comparar a pesquisa dela com as pesquisas de Domenico de Masi...

[@themelancholicguy139]

Watched the complete interview. Thanks to Google.

[@melgaudart]

That was a great question 33:50

[@user-td3fb4rm5d]

How do you measure Grit? Can we increase Grit? Is Grit different from the five trait model? Why invent a new name for a trait that has its already defined scientific name? Getting a genius award for inventing a new name!

[@invaderg3332]

I kind of agree with Jordan Peterson, grit and conscientiousness sound almost note to note the same. That's why the two are so highly correlated, anyone wanna fight? Duckworth is running on her intelligent word play but I think she has very good intentions .

[@prashantvanave8504]

❤

[@dennis-the-menace4116]

Hey Mr Wilson! Go Post all

[@jordancda]

The audio is really, really quiet on this video. Can't hear even when I cast to my stereo.

[@talksatgoogle]

+Jordan Nelson We have corrected the audio issue. Thanks for watching!

[@jordancda]

+Talks at Google Thank you! I LOVE Talks @ Google. Keep them up! Angela Duckworth was great! Do you have a place to suggest authors/speakers?

[@moshawqy]

how do you do anything deliberately in this very fast and adversely changing world. even in business the focus on production or any other business segments is mostly shallow and doesn't allow for deliberate practice or approach.

[@OMARMOHAMED-rg8fn]

❤❤❤❤❤

[@javierbobadilla3499]

we should all know the meaning of "GRIT"