Ted Talk Tuesday #50: True Grit

Watching TED Talks is a popular pastime at CN&CO. We visit TED.com regularly to clear our heads, have a laugh or get inspired. TED Talks open our minds, spark new ways of thinking and can lead to some very interesting conversations. Each week we pick a favourite and publish it on a Tuesday, because we like how “TED Talk Tuesday” sounds. This week’s talk was selected by a close friend of Gianluca, Marek van Wyk (Credit Portfolio Manager at Bayport International Group and an overall legend of a guy):

Grit is all about the determination that you are able to apply to everyday life. It is completely unrelated to talent and more about the mindset of the individual in wanting to achieve their goals through hard work and dedication.

People who display (true) grit also are much more likely to persevere when they fail because they do not see failure as a permanent condition. For me, this is the most valuable takeaway from this TED Talk by Angela Lee Duckworth (as well as the book) in that failure does not define us.

Failure should rather be used as a stepping stone to greatness. It should be used to build us up and to allow us to reach new heights of success.

As Napoleon Hill once said: “Most great people have attained their greatest success just one step beyond their greatest failure.”

Enjoy the talk!