Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance

Cognitive psychologist Anders Ericsson (1947-2020) found that people at elite levels of expertise get there after 10,000 hours of training, much of it “deliberate practice,” during which great effort is made to improve performance. This idea has become popular in the media and has influenced educators. Ericsson and Duckworth studied spelling bee contestants and found that the best ones focus on the deliberate practice of memorizing words.

Martin Seligman is a psychology professor at the University of Pennsylvania and was Duckworth’s PhD advisor. His study of dogs subjected to random shocks showed that dogs subjected to hopeless situations give up and stop trying to solve problems even when new opportunities arise. Seligman then studied under Aaron Beck, a cocreator of cognitive behavioral therapy, and Seligman developed the related theory of “learned optimism,” by which people can regard problems as temporay and solvable instead of permanent and unchangeable.

Brought up by a mother who worked three jobs and still found time to bake or do errands for others, Kat Cole began her own worklife as a Hooters waitress, where she took on jobs vacated by other workers, learned every job at the restaurant, trained replacements, and soon was opening stores overseas. By age 32, Kat was president of bakery chain Cinnabon, where she improved sales to more than $1 billion. She loves to learn new skills and enjoys making a difference in other people’s lives. Her story is a prominent example in Grit of someone who has turned a job into a calling, with great success.

Steve struggled at baseball in high school, so he practiced relentlessly until he made team captain and achieved a healthy .384 batting average. In college Steve was the eighth quarterback and wanted to quit, but his dad wouldn’t let him. Instead, Steve practiced throwing passes, 10,000 in all, and became the starter in his senior year, winning the O’Brien Award as the nation’s best quarterback. With the San Francisco 49ers, Steve rode the bench for four years while Joe Montana led the team to several Super Bowl victories; Steve studied Joe’s methods, finally became the starter, and took the 49ers to three more Super Bowl wins. Steve credits his gritty success to his parents and their tough standards and endless support.

Francesca Martinez has cerebral palsy, yet she performs as a comedian “to sold-out audiences around the world” (207). School counselors suggested she study computers, but she wanted to be onstage, and her parents supported her, driving her to gigs and even letting her drop out of school to pursue her dream. She became a TV show regular, wrote a best-selling memoir, and is rated by the Observer as one of Britain’s funniest comics. Francesca says her “absurdly cool” parents, who brooked no misbehavior but otherwise supported her dreams, are the foundation for her success: “Their overwhelming support and positivity are why there is no limit to my ambition” (208).

One of USC’s winningest football coaches, Pete Carroll led the Seattle Seahawks to two Super Bowls and victory in Super Bowl XLVIII. He credits the author’s Grit Scale, along with advice from winningest women’s college soccer coach Anson Dorrance, as major contributors to his system of building players into relentless winners: “we’re just trying to make them more gritty” (262).

Originally a muralist, and for decades the director of Philadelphia’s Mural Arts Program, Jane Golden has overseen the installation of 3,600 murals throughout the city. A lifetime victim of the disease lupus, Jane soldiers ahead despite constant pain, calling her overriding purpose “a spirit of service. I feel driven by it. It’s a moral imperative […] Art saves lives” (145). Jane is an exemplar of purpose-driven expertise.

Geoffrey Canada grew up poor but broke through to college, then later took his Harvard master’s degree in education to New York City, where he directs the Harlem Children’s Zone educational program that helps inner-city youth make it to college. He believes extracurricular programs are vital to a child’s development and success. Geoffrey’s TED Talk stressed the need for enrichment programs.

John Irving got a C- in high school English, and his verbal SAT was a mere 475. Irving is dyslexic; to this day, he reads slowly, a finger pointing at the words. Accustomed to working twice as hard as others to achieve the same academic ends—writing and rewriting until his words sound effortless—Irving has the work habits he needs to overcome obstacles and achieve success. The result is The World According to Garp, The Cider House Rules, and other best-selling books, many of which have been made into award-winning films.