Grit and Ira Glass.

I just finished a fantastic book called “Grit” by Angela Duckworth. The book is SO good that I actually read it twice, back to back. The first time I extracted some awesome quotes like these:

“Each of the basic requirements of deliberate practice is unremarkable: A clearly defined stretch goal, Full concentration and effort, Immediate and informative feedback, Repetition with reflection and refinement.”

Angela Duckworth

“To be gritty is to keep putting one foot in front of the other. To be gritty is to hold fast to an interesting and purposeful goal. To be gritty is to invest, day after week after year, in challenging practice. To be gritty is to fall down seven times, and rise eight.”

Angela Duckworth

“Gritty people do more deliberate practice and experience more flow.”

Angela Duckworth

The second time I read the book, I took the time to pause during certain moments and really reflect on how Duckworth’s advise could be applied to my own professional life.

“Passion for your work is a little bit of discovery, followed by a lot of development, and then a lifetime of deepening.”

Angela Duckworth

I’m going to grow up to love my work as much as you love yours. I won’t just have a job; I’ll have a calling. I’ll challenge myself every day. When I get knocked down, I’ll get back up. I may not be the smartest person in the room, but I’ll strive to be the grittiest. In the long run, grit may matter more than talent.

Angela Duckworth

One of the most interesting exercises was to think who represents Grit to me. And Ira Glass, the well-know host of “This American Life” was the first one to come to mind.

I’ve watched this video by Glass endless times. I’ve used it on some of my “Storytelling” online courses and workshops. And I’ve shared it with more students than any other video. Why? Simply because in 5 minutes we condenses the process all creative people go through, not only once or twice, but pretty much every time we push ourselves, get our of our comfort zones and try new things.

On a more recent interview on “Without Fail“, the host Alex Blumberg (who worked for Glass for many years) shared a little bit of Ira’s process. If there’s no “Grit” on that, I don’t know where to find it!

If you want to learn more about Ira Glass and his creative process, I’d highly recommend watching this hour-long interview at Google.

And last but not least, I’ll leave you with one more quote by Angela Duckworth:

Grit has two components: passion and perseverance. This consistent pattern – perseverance scores more often topping passion scores – is a clue that passion and perseverance aren’t exactly the same thing.

Angela Duckworth