Dr. Angela Duckworth

I'm pretty talented at psychology.

When I started my PhD at age 32, I was pregnant with my second daughter.

I was still nursing the first.

And when I would read a psychology article—

I, of course, knew nothing.

I didn't know the vocabulary.

I didn't know where to start.

But when I would read about motivation, about beliefs, about mindsets, about practice, I ascended a learning curve relatively steeply.

But I'm very, very untalented when it comes to history.

When it comes to politics, current events, I'm terrible.

I mean, I teach at the Wharton School of Business, and every year I have to ask my students again.

I'm like, wait, remind me what a hedge fund is.

Just one more time.

Tell me.

And how is it different from private equity?

I'll write it down this time.

And then the next year I have to ask again.

I'm not very good at learning some things, but I am very –

agile at learning others.

And I think that's really the heart of what we mean when we say like somebody's innately talented, right?