The speaker reflects on her teaching experience, noticing that success wasn't solely based on IQ.

• The speaker left a demanding job in management consulting for a more demanding one in teaching.
• She taught seventh graders math in New York City public schools.
• She noticed that IQ was not the only difference between her best and her worst students. Some of her strongest performers did not have stratospheric IQ scores.

The speaker decides to study psychology to understand better the factors contributing to success.

• She left the classroom and pursued a career in psychology, studying kids and adults in various challenging settings.
• In every study, her question was, who is successful here and why?
• She conducted research at West Point Military Academy, National Spelling Bee, tough neighborhoods, and partnered with private companies.

The speaker defines 'grit' and discusses its importance in achieving success.

• Grit, characterized by passion and perseverance for long-term goals, emerged as a significant predictor of success in her studies.
• Grit involves sticking with your future and working hard to make that future a reality.
• Grit is living life like it's a marathon, not a sprint.

The speaker takes her research to Chicago public schools to examine the role of grit in academic success.

• She started studying grit in the Chicago public schools, asking high school juniors to take grit questionnaires.
• Grittier students were significantly more likely to graduate, even when matched on every characteristic measured, such as family income, standardized test scores, or safety at school.

The speaker discusses the challenges in building grit and mentions the 'growth mindset' as a promising concept.

• The speaker discusses how little is known about building grit.
• The best idea for building grit she's heard is 'growth mindset', developed by Carol Dweck at Stanford University.
• Growth mindset is the belief that the ability to learn can change with effort, and it encourages perseverance in the face of failure.

The speaker concludes by calling for more research and testing of ideas to build grit in children.

• The speaker calls for more research, testing of ideas, measurement of success, and willingness to learn from failures in the process of building grit in children.
• She emphasizes the need to be gritty about getting kids grittier.