In this instant New York Times bestseller, Angela Duckworth shows anyone striving to succeed that the secret to outstanding achievement is not talent, but a special blend of passion and persistence she calls “grit.” “Inspiration for non-geniuses everywhere” ( People ).
The daughter of a scientist who frequently noted her lack of “genius,” Angela Duckworth is now a celebrated researcher and professor. It was her early eye-opening stints in teaching, business consulting, and neuroscience that led to her hypothesis about what really drives not genius, but a unique combination of passion and long-term perseverance.
In Grit , she takes us into the field to visit cadets struggling through their first days at West Point, teachers working in some of the toughest schools, and young finalists in the National Spelling Bee. She also mines fascinating insights from history and shows what can be gleaned from modern experiments in peak performance. Finally, she shares what she’s learned from interviewing dozens of high achievers—from JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon to New Yorker cartoon editor Bob Mankoff to Seattle Seahawks Coach Pete Carroll.
“Duckworth’s ideas about the cultivation of tenacity have clearly changed some lives for the better” ( The New York Times Book Review ). Among Grit ’s most valuable any effort you make ultimately counts twice toward your goal; grit can be learned , regardless of IQ or circumstances; when it comes to child-rearing, neither a warm embrace nor high standards will work by themselves; how to trigger lifelong interest; the magic of the Hard Thing Rule; and so much more. Winningly personal, insightful, and even life-changing, Grit is a book about what goes through your head when you fall down, and how that —not talent or luck—makes all the difference. This is “a fascinating tour of the psychological research on success” ( The Wall Street Journal) .
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Empirical research on long-term achievement and self-regulation demonstrates that perseverance and passion are often stronger predictors of success than innate talent or intellectual ability. Psychologist Angela Duckworth brought these psychological insights to a general audience with her bestseller Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance, which has sold more than five million copies globally and expanded public understanding of human potential.
Through popular science writing and academic research, her work explores how psychological traits like self-control and sustained determination shape performance across education, business, and athletic domains.
Angela Lee Duckworth was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1970. She completed an AB magna cum laude in Advanced Studies Neurobiology at Harvard College in 1992, followed by an MSc with Distinction in Neuroscience from the University of Oxford in 1996. After working as an educator and consultant, she pursued graduate studies in psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, earning her MA and PhD between 2002 and 2006. Her 2005 study co-authored with Martin Seligman showed that self-discipline predicts academic performance in adolescents more accurately than IQ.
Duckworth serves as the Rosa Lee and Egbert Chang Professor of Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, where she co-directs both the Penn-Wharton Behavior Change for Good Initiative and Wharton People Analytics. She is also the founder and former CEO of Character Lab, a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing character development in children. Her influential research earned her a MacArthur Fellowship in 2013, and she has advised organizations ranging from the World Bank and Fortune 500 companies to NBA and NFL teams.
Duckworth's writing translates complex psychological methodologies and longitudinal data into accessible, evidence-based frameworks for general readers. Central to her work is the distinction between talent and effort, emphasizing that while innate capability sets a baseline, sustained effort over long periods ultimately determines skill acquisition and significant achievement. She combines quantitative research findings with real-world case studies from military academies, spelling bees, and corporate environments to illustrate how mindsets function.
Her research and books focus heavily on behavioral regulation, motivation, and environmental influences on character. In addition to examining internal drive through the concept of grit, her work explores situational factors—analyzing how social settings, immediate surroundings, and interpersonal relationships shape individual behavior, personal growth, and daily habits.
