Why do some people succeed and others fail? In Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance, MacArthur “genius grant” recipient Angela Duckworth shares new insights from her decades of research on grit and explains why talent is hardly a guarantor of success.

Drawing on her own story as the daughter of a scientist who frequently bemoaned her lack of smarts, Duckworth describes her winding path through teaching, business consulting, and neuroscience, which led to the hypothesis that what really drives success is not “genius” but a special blend of passion and long-term perseverance. As a professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, Duckworth created her own “character lab” and set out to test her theory.

In Grit, she illuminates our fascination with achievement and takes readers into the field to visit teachers working in some of the toughest schools, cadets struggling through their first days at West Point, and young finalists in the National Spelling Bee. She also mines fascinating insights from history and shows what can be gleaned from modern experiments in peak performance.

She shows us that perseverance and passion matter at least as much as talent and intelligence. And rather than urge us to work harder for the sake of working harder, she posits that true success comes when we commit ourselves to endeavors that bring joy and purpose. Book signing to follow.