Grit: Why Passion and Resilience are the Secrets to Success by Angela Duckworth
Book Overview
In Grit: Why Passion and Resilience are the Secrets to Success, Professor of Psychology, Angela Duckworth considers what contributes to success. Through evidence-based research and interviews with high-achievers in various fields, she concludes that passion, perseverance, and consistent effort over the long-term, are more significant than talent alone.
Main Takeaways
(1) An ability to maintain a long-term meaningful goal, one which directs and drives all others, will determine your level of grit, motivation and success.
(2) Consistency of effort, deliberate practice, and an ability to engage in meaningful work whilst in a state of flow, have more influence on successful outcomes than talent alone.
(3) We are hard-wired to value talent over hard work, which is seen in the preference and admiration we show to those we believe have achieved through "natural" talent.
(4) The decisions we make about the direction in which we focus our time, effort and practice, are less influenced by the pros and cons of our life options, and more by the person we believe ourselves to be.
(5) Talent x Effort = Skill and Skill x Effort = Achievement. Though talent and effort increases skill levels, an increasing level of skill combined with effort leads to success. With this, effort has exponential value.
Favorite Quote(s)
“As much as talent counts, effort counts twice.”
“At its core, the idea of purpose is the idea that what we do matters to people other than ourselves.”
“Without effort, your talent is nothing more than unmet potential.”
“To be gritty is to resist complacency.”
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