The Grit Site is the Intellectual Property of EquipU4 and the Tracking Unit, Stellenbosch Universiy, 2011 Original Research Angela Duckworth of the University of Pennsilvania and her fellow researchers proposed that individuals who possess a drive to tirelessly work through challenges, failures, and adversity to achieve set goals are uniquely positioned to reach higher achievements than others who lack similar stamina. They found in a series of scientific studies that higher levels of grit were more highly associated with cumulative grade point average in an Ivy league sample when compared to those with lower grit levels; that grit predicted retention after their first summer in two classes of cadets at the United States Military Academy ; and that participants in a National Spelling Bee with higher grit scores typically work harder and longer than less gritty peers, ultimately resulting in better performance. This series of studies provides empirical evidence that an individual difference conceptualized as grit can account for significant variance in performance across a variety of settings. Learn more by watching... Watch this 18 min 37 seconds video on YouTube with the title "True Grit: Can Perseverance be Taught?" by Angela Lee Duckworth.  Here is the link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qaeFnxSfSC4. Learn more by studying the following two journal articles: Duckworth, A.L, & Quinn, P.D. (2009). Development and validation of the Short Grit Scale (Grit-S). Journal of Personality Assessment, 91, 166-174. Duckworth, A.L., Peterson, C., Matthews, M.D., & Kelly, D.R. (2007). Grit: Perseverance and passion for long-term goals. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 92(6), 1087-1101. These two articles are downloadable from http://www.sas.upenn.edu/~duckwort/research.htm.