The Lavin Agency Speakers Bureau
A speakers bureau that represents the best original thinkers,
writers, and doers for speaking engagements.
A speakers bureau that represents the best original thinkers,
writers, and doers for speaking engagements.
Grit, more than talent, IQ, looks, or wealth, is a powerful indicator of success.
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 2018, celebrated its 25th 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.
Angela was outstanding. We can’t say enough great things about her. The team loved meeting her, she did an excellent job on the show, and was all around professional and easy to work with.
Mawer Investment Management Ltd.Angela was fantastic—her message landed perfectly as a wrap-up to our kick-off week. I heard feedback it was one of the highlights, and have heard people quoting her in various meetings since. It gave our leaders some much needed thought provocations.
Hilti North AmericaPulitzer Prize-Winning author of Stay True New Yorker staff writer CBS Sunday Morning contributor
New York Times Bestselling Author Of All Boys Aren’t Blue and We Are Not Broken Emmy Nominee LGBTQIA+ Activist
Author of Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself Co-founder of the Center for Mindful Self-Compassion
Founder of Street Symphony Co-Founder of the Skid Row Arts Alliance MacArthur Genius
Pulitzer Prize-Winning Author of On Juneteenth Harvard Law Professor MacArthur Genius
Pulitzer Prize-Winning Creator of The 1619 Project Executive Producer of the Emmy Award-Winning 1619 Project Hulu Docuseries MacArthur Genius
Author, Ordinary Magic Co-Director, Dweck-Walton Lab at Stanford Professor of Psychology, Stanford
Bestselling Author of Cultures of Growth Indiana University Professor Founder and CEO, Equity Accelerator
Author of The State Must Provide: The Definitive History of Racial Inequality in American Higher Education Staff Writer at The Atlantic
Author of Grit, the #1 New York Times Bestseller | Pioneering Researcher on Grit, Perseverance, and the Science of Success
2024 Nobel Prize Winner | 3rd Most Cited Economist in the World | MIT Institute Professor | Bestselling Co-Author of Why Nations Fail and Power and Progress
Pulitzer Prize-Winning Creator of The 1619 Project | Executive Producer of the Emmy Award-Winning 1619 Project Hulu Docuseries | MacArthur Genius
Nike's Former Chief Marketing Officer | Author of Emotion by Design
CEO of The Atlantic | Former Editor-in-Chief of WIRED
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 schools—all people performing in high-stress environments—to look at the correlation between grit and achievement.
Drawing from these examples, and others, Angela 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.”
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 grit is a guiding light as we continue to grow in the new era of work.
How can we capitalize on the skills that helped us get through our recent challenges? 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, Angela 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.