Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance
“I knew the decision was mine,” Steve said. “And I knew my dad didn’t want me to be him. Number one, a parent needs to set a stage that proves to the child, ‘I’m not trying to just have you do what I say, control you, make you be like me, make you do what I did, ask you to make up for what I didn’t do.’ My dad showed me early that it wasn’t about h
... See moreAngela Duckworth • Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance
Parenting. This is it. I'm not trying to control you, I'm helping you become ready for the life you will want to have. Everything has to come from that place.
If you want to bring forth grit in your child, first ask how much passion and perseverance you have for your own life goals. Then ask yourself how likely it is that your approach to parenting encourages your child to emulate you. If the answer to the first question is “a great deal,” and your answer to the second is “very likely,” you’re already pa
... See moreAngela Duckworth • Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance
Damn son. If you're not doing what you want to be doing, you're teaching your children helplessness.
It seemed a sure bet that those for whom things came easily would continue to outpace their classmates. In fact, I expected that the achievement gap separating the naturals from the rest of the class would only widen over time.
Angela Duckworth • Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance
It's the "Tortoise and Hare" all over again.
Nobody wants to show you the hours and hours of becoming. They’d rather show the highlight of what they’ve become.
Angela Duckworth • Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance
It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort wi
... See moreAngela Duckworth • Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance
How many times' have I highlighted and read this quote by Roosevelt. So good. So useful in so many scenarios.
How you see your work is more important than your job title. And this means that you can go from job to career to calling—all without changing your occupation.
Angela Duckworth • Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance
I'm really happy not to be in SEO/SEM.
Before hard work comes play. Before those who’ve yet to fix on a passion are ready to spend hours a day diligently honing skills, they must goof around, triggering and retriggering interest.
Angela Duckworth • Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance
This is how I fell into the study of literature and it positively shapes my life experience every day. Allowing for that kind of play without repercussions is something I want to make available to my son as he gets older. The wisest thing my dad ever did was to tell me I could always have a job at his successful auto parts business, but that I had to go get a college degree in any subject that I wanted.
I have a feeling tomorrow will be better is different from I resolve to make tomorrow better. The hope that gritty people have has nothing to do with luck and everything to do with getting up again.
Angela Duckworth • Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance
Oh man, do I remember having this conversation with my mother when she was in danger of losing her nest egg which was invested in a commercial property in Bakersfield. I became so angry when she would say things like, "it's in god's hands now" as a means of letting herself off the hook. I wonder if the intervening years, now that she lost the property and claimed a bankruptcy, have changed how she would respond today? Perhaps.
Csikszentmihalyi goes on to share a personal story that helps explain his perspective. In Hungary, where he grew up, on the tall wooden gate at the entrance to the local elementary school, hung a sign that read: The roots of knowledge are bitter, but its fruits are sweet. This always struck him as deeply untrue: “Even when the learning is hard,” he
... See more