Angela Duckworth

It was the core components of grit—courage, conscientiousness, perseverance, resilience, and passion—that shone through in the acts of heroism we witnessed during the pandemic. But it wasn’t just frontline workers who inspired us—we all cultivated our own resilience in the face of unprecedented adversity. Now that we’ve made it through the worst of it, Angela Duckworth’s pioneering work on grit is a guiding light as we continue to grow in the post-pandemic landscape.

As Duckworth says, “If you don’t learn something in this crisis, then you aren’t paying attention.” So how can we capitalize on the skills that helped us survive our darkest days? And how should we address our renewed priorities, and pursue goals that serve our higher selves over the long-term? Drawing from her landmark research, Duckworth shows us how to adapt to a new way of living. This timely and practical presentation will help audiences recognize their inner fortitude, nurture their true potential, and prepare to flourish—not merely survive— in the face of whatever may be around the next bend.

Who succeeds in life? In this talk, Angela Duckworth presents her influential work on grit—the tendency to pursue long-term goals with perseverance and passion. She describes the predictive power of grit for performance in a variety of fascinating contexts. Duckworth has studied groups like the West Point cadets, National Spelling Bee competitors, rookie teachers, students from the Chicago Public Schools—all people performing in high-stress environments—to look at the correlation between grit and achievement. Drawing from these examples, and others, Duckworth explains what makes gritty individuals different from others, and, shares her belief that grit “can be instilled and cultivated by anyone, anywhere, and at any time in life.”