A fascinating insight into a key ingredient for success. Very readable, and usefully re-readable. I can see myself revisiting Duckworth's book on regular occasions in future. Interesting concepts delivered in an engaging way.

Let's start with the two negative points I have, before starting the rave about it.
I think that some sections if the book are a bit too academic and packed too full with Information at once. That is both a good and a bad thing, it's great to have all that information in one place and seeing it Together. But it also makes it harder to read the book without feeling either overwhelmed or boredom one point throughout it.
The other thing is that i didn't agree with the author at all when she said that to be successful you have to only have one specific passion and/or focus. That's people that have multiple passions are too easily losing focus or don't have enough motivation, that those people lack the grittiness to success and be actual successes,
I thinks that not true at all. It's possible to be multifaceted and still focus in one area at a time. Who said anything about a person having to be in med school it become a doctor and also start their career as head chef at the best restaurant in town while also running a dog teaing school? Nobody says that just becuse you have different passions all of them have to be equally fullfilled at the same time.
Most people with more than one passion are actually very well versed in making sure to focus on one area at a time. Wouldn't that actually be a good thing, to know when to focus on what?
So I don't think that the author was right or should have basically said that everyone with multiple passions is doomed to fail because they lack the grittiness to succeed.
A lot of people show that building one passion on top of another is actually something that gives you more success.


I do think that this book has a lot of fantastic points, and it has a great way to say and get across what it takes to success.
Mostly that it's in your own hands and that it takes work and isn't easy.
Which we all know but it's also something that apparently needs to be heard over and over again as a reminder that the hard work will pay of at some point.

All in all?
Great read with good ideas and concepts!

Angela Duckworth has been studying resilience and "grit" for many years. Grit is the determination to succeed - to bounce back, to get back up after failures, obstacles and setbacks in order to succeed.

The book is based on science, so can be quite academic in parts. However it is reassuring to know that this book, and the reasoning behind her suggestions, are based on research - you will be applying methodology that has been proven to work.

This book will convince you that grit can help you succeed whether you are aiming to be a successful student, employee or Olympic athlete. And more importantly, that grit can be learned - it's not something you have or don't have.

A book that you will read again and again, when your perseverance is waining.

The premise of this book was interesting, and I did enjoy it, but it was quite a long book to say basically just the one thing - that the difference between success and failure is down to your determination to succeed, or "grit". I did learn something about how to develop grit though, so it was definitely worth reading!

A deeply interesting work about grit, follow through and 'Sisu'. Intensely well researched, I have a lot to think about after reading this.

Quite an interesting read, using real examples. However, this is one of the longest unread books on my shelf, because I just couldn't get drawn into it. I think this may be better on paper, rather than in electronic form.

An impressive insightful book and one that you will definitely read more than once. More an encyclopedia of how to succeed whether you are a parent, a student, an educator or in business. Angela Duckworth emphasises that the secret to outstanding achievement is not talent but a focused persistence called grit. She teaches you that when you fall down you MUST get back up again and persevere, luck, chance and talent are the icing on the cake, which which has to be made entirely with TRUE GRIT.

Can't say I particularly enjoyed this. I've read quite a few business and self-help books but I found myself skim reading this just to get it finished. Sorry, not my cup of tea at all.

Full of research and a most interesting book. Well worth reading.

This is a difficult book to describe and could be shelved in business, self help or psychology... It is a fascinating exploration of why some people who have loads of innate talent do not succeed while some with less talent succeed greatly, This is because the latter have what Ms Duckworth calls "grit". A couple of sentences from the book will give a flavour.

"The highly accomplished were paragons of perseverance."

"I have a feeling that tomorrow will be better is different from I resolve to make tomorrow better."

The book is well written, an easy read but, at all times, full of evidence based thinking about how we can become "grittier".

I'd recommend this to anyone doubting their path, anyone who wonders why people not as good as them surpass them and people interested in the psychology of human achievement.

I was given a free copy of the book by Netgalley in return for an honest review.

This was such a thought provoking book! It made me question myself as to if I really had any grit!! Each chapter questioned different types and areas of grit.

It's all about finding that thing that you enjoy doing. Then you will find you work harder to achieve it and be successful.

This was a great book for me to be sent at this point in my career. I am really trying to work hard at achieving a career in my passion-health and fitness. I considered also doing a beautician course but this book has taught me to be good at one thing to achieve the most.

Trying to juggle a full time job and make a new career work is hard. But 'deliberate practice-make it a habit' helps me to think differently. If I do more in that area it will become second nature.

Angela Duckworth has done extensive research on grit and her findings were interesting. However, I found this book rather difficult to read; there was a lot of repetition throughout the book. The conclusion summarises quite aptly what the previous pages convey.

Angela Duckworth, a professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania and a 2013 MacArthur Fellow, presents a new formula for grit, showing that outstanding achievement does not rely on talent but on grit and grit is something that can be cultivated and learned throughout our lives. Grit is what makes you persevere when life knocks you down; what makes you get up again and again and again if necessary. It’s not luck or talent that makes a difference, it’s grit and grit relies on enduring passion. Everyone has potential, but what we individually do with our potential is what separates the grittier people from the others.

It seems many of us are distracted by talent. Charles Darwin was not. His opinion was that zeal and hard work are ultimately more important than intellectual ability as the determinants of achievement. The author also believes that a preoccupation with talent can be harmful. By shining the spotlight on talent, we risk leaving everything else in the shadows and we inadvertently send the message that other factors, such as grit, don’t matter as much as they really do. And she has research examples to substantiate this view. She argues that as much as talent counts, effort counts twice. She believes that Greatness is doable by anyone! Greatness is many, many individual feats and each one of them is doable – excellence is, in fact, an accumulation of mundane acts.

I think that EVERYONE should read this book, we all have something to learn from it. I loved the way the author uses personal accounts and presents her research in a way that is meaningful to everyone from all walks of life, whether you are an athlete, a CEO or a student. She presents two simple equations that explain how you get from talent to achievement:

talent x effort = skill

skill x effort = achievement

So, effort does count twice and nothing can be achieved without effort. With effort, talent becomes a skill and, at the very same time, effort makes skill productive. Grit grows and can be cultivated! Read the book and find out how.

Saphira

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.

In common with many books of this nature, what is often quite a significant finding is over-worked probably to give the reader the feeling of value for money (length) rather than attempting to explain a valuable insight as concisely as possible. The result may be counter-productive because there is a risk that boredom will set in well before the end, and the impact is lessened as a result. That was my experience with this book, which is a pity as the basic premise is really important! You need to read it (especially if you are a parent or teacher) but be prepared to feel the urge to put the knowledge to use before you are half way through the book.

Fascinating and inspiring read that made me think about how I live and work, and what sort of example I could be setting for my children. Felt well supported without drowning in academic detail. Recommended.

unable to read this book as only the last b10% transferred to my Kindle

Some interestjng information but the delivery was rather flat and there was a lot of repetiition. Not Duckworth's best.

Even though I didn’t finish reading this book I don’t have many bad things to say about it, on the contrary actually. Not finishing it is completely on me and should not influence your decision whether to pick it up or not.

LET’S START WITH A FEW THINGS I REALLY ENJOYED!
1 – The first and most important, the writing was kept as clear as possible, considering that many subjects had a touch of science, the text was simple and accessible so no one would feel left out.

2 – The whole book (well the 30% that I read) had tons of real example from various successful people around the globe, written in a “storytelling” style to captivate the interest of the audience.

3 – To not get too overwhelmed with the amount of information that we get, there were a few tests, diagrams, tables and other means of presentation to make the whole reading and learning experience more dynamic.

4 – The chapters and subjects were well defined, it was almost like reading a manual or a school book on a certain subject. (this I had a problem with). The separation of different topics and the way they were constructed to lead to certain conclusions made easier to assimilate information.

5 – There were quite a lot of quotes and mottos that I ended up highlighting, that inspired me to stay focused on things I loved.

Thanks to this book I learnt (A) to split my goals in smaller ones and (B) how to build a ladder of smaller goals that will eventually get me to my final destination. Applying this to practice is still very hard, but I now have the knowledge to attempt building myself the yellow brick road.

​I have a natural bias for Angela and I think anything she says/ writes is pure gold.

Now that I've put that disclaimer out there, here's my review 😊

One thing that grabbed my attention repeatedly is how her research findings show that talent is not enough for success. She defines grit as a combination of passion and perseverance in achieving certain set targets.

Angela uses practical examples from the lives of successful people showing that the ability to continuously work on an endeavour with tenacity and perseverance is more important than just raw talent.
​
Even though I love her work, I felt this book did not really showcase the brilliance that is Angela Duckworth.

However, the stories she tells and examples given motivate the reader to do more...and be more.

Favourite Quote: "Our potential is one thing. What we do with it is quite another."

Very insightful and motivational book, packed with facts and backed-up theories. Would definitely recommend for anyone looking to succeed in life.