Who succeeds in life? Is it simply those among us who are gifted and talented in our pursuits? Or, is aptitude merely “potential” if effort and interest are not sustained over time? In this presentation, Angela Duckworth reviews her research on grit, the tendency to pursue challenging goals over years with perseverance and passion. She describes the predictive power of grit for performance in the National Spelling Bee, graduation from West Point, graduation from the Chicago Public Schools, and a variety of other contexts. Next, she describes current work on the underlying motivational, cognitive, and behavioral mechanisms explaining what makes gritty individuals different from others. Finally, she summarizes her current thinking on how we can cultivate grit in ourselves and in others.