Indira Lakshmanan

speaker

50 appearances 1 recordings 1 series first heard Sep 2026 last heard 2d ago

Indira Lakshmanan’s voice in public audio — every appearance, attributed to the second.

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Recordings per month over the last 12 months — 1 in all, peaking in Sep 2026 with 1.

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NPR's Book of the Day · 'Grit' author Angela Duckworth on how changing your situation can lead to success · 22 Sep 2026 podcast

And I have to say what struck me is that our society worships willpower.

We're taught to change ourselves from within.

But you say we should change what's around us first.

So explain what you mean by situational agency.

All right.

Well, you lay out four practical ways we can change our situation.

Can you touch on each briefly?

Sure.

Well, a phenomenal story that you tell about somebody who changed their situation by changing their surroundings.

is Taylor Swift, who persuaded her family to move from this sleepy Pennsylvania suburb to Nashville when she was just 14 so she could pursue a career in music.

Would Taylor Swift not have been a global superstar if she hadn't changed her environment?

Well, I mean, that sounds great, but the reality is most of us don't have the resources or the flexibility to uproot our lives.

So for folks listening now who feel stuck, how can we improve our situations without moving across the country or across the world?

Yeah.

All right.

Well, you also say seeking out peers who are fellow strivers, who share our values, is key to improving our situation.

What if we can't afford fancy schools or elite clubs?

What is your advice for picking our peers?

fellow travelers.

You say that mentors are indispensable for us to reach our full potential.

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