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Angela Duckworth
Grit, more than talent, IQ, looks, or wealth, is a powerful indicator of success.
Author of Grit, the #1 New York Times Bestseller | Pioneering Researcher on Grit, Perseverance, and the Science of Success
Lavin Exclusive Speaker
What makes some people persevere when others give up? It’s not their talent or IQ— it’s their grit. #1 New York Times bestselling author ANGELA DUCKWORTH is the pioneering voice on grit. It’s “passion and perseverance for very long-term goals,” and it’s behind every success. A MacArthur Genius, Angela looks at how grit is the secret to outstanding achievement, and how you can grow it. Her TED Talk is one of the most viewed of all time, surpassing 29 million views. And in her instant bestseller, Grit, she shares insights from her landmark research. What does grit look like in everyday life? How do you hone it? Developing a growth mindset, cultivating your interests, and daily grit exercises are just a few methods she explores. Angela offers an actionable guide to becoming a grittier and more successful person at school, in the office, or as a leader. “Grit is sticking with your future, day in, day out. Grit is living life like it’s a marathon, not a sprint.”
“Grit is passion and perseverance for very long-term goals. Grit is having stamina. Grit is sticking with your future, day-in, day-out … Grit is living life like it’s a marathon, not a sprint.”
— Angela Duckworth
Angela Duckworth is the co-founder of Character Lab, a nonprofit whose mission is to advance scientific insights that help children thrive. She is also the Rosa Lee and Egbert Chang Professor at the University of Pennsylvania, faculty co-director of the Penn-Wharton Behavior Change For Good Initiative, and founding faculty co-director of Wharton People Analytics. A 2013 MacArthur Fellow, Angela has advised the World Bank, NBA and NFL teams, and Fortune 500 CEOs.
Prior to her career in research, Angela founded a summer school for underserved children that was profiled as a Harvard Kennedy School case study and, in 2023, celebrated its 30th anniversary. She has also been a McKinsey management consultant and a math and science teacher in the public schools of New York City, San Francisco, and Philadelphia.
Angela completed her undergraduate degree in Advanced Studies Neurobiology at Harvard, graduating magna cum laude. With the support of a Marshall Scholarship, she completed an MSc with Distinction in Neuroscience from Oxford University. She completed her PhD in Psychology as a National Science Foundation Graduate Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania.
Angela’s TED talk is among the most-viewed of all time. Her book, Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance, is a #1 New York Times bestseller. She was also co-host of the podcast No Stupid Questions, which ran from 2020 to 2024, with new episodes regularly ranking within the top 150 podcast episodes on Apple.
Speech Topics
PsychologyRead more
True GritThe Surprising, and Inspiring, Science of Success
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. Angela has studied groups like the West Point cadets, National Spelling Bee competitors, rookie teachers, students from the Chicago public...
Grit at WorkRead more
Grit in the New Era of WorkPursuing Resilience
It was the core components of grit—courage, conscientiousness, perseverance, resilience, and passion—that shone through in the acts of heroism we’ve witnessed through the crises of the last few years. We all cultivated our own resilience in the face of unprecedented challenges, whether moving to a hybrid model or battling economic uncertainty. Angela Duckworth’s pioneering work on...
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