Hi, welcome to season 2 of Train. I'm Ryan Flaherty, senior director of Performance at Nike.

I train some of the world's best athletes, like Sequan Barkley, Russell Wilson, and Marcus

Marioda. At Nike, we believe that greatness isn't born, it's trained, and training is

more than just a workout. Each episode will bring you conversations with leading experts

in what we call the five facets of training. Movement, recovery, sleep, nutrition, and mindset.

Today, we're focusing on how creating time-bound goals are crucial to improving grit, and how

important grit is to not only success in the gym, but in all aspects of life. And there's

no better person to talk to about that than Professor Angela Duckworth, whose work has changed

the way we look at talent versus work ethic. You're listening to Train, presented by Nike.

I do want to encourage people as they reflect on the past year in preparation for making New Year's

resolutions to reflect on the positive. Reflect on the times that you did actually eat what you

said you wanted to eat, and that week that you went to the gym every time that you said you

were going to go to the gym. And, you know, the times that you felt like you were interpersonally,

the person that you wanted to be. That's University of Pennsylvania researcher and

professor Angela Duckworth. Angela is the daughter of a scientist who frequently noted her lack of

genius. Today, she's a celebrated researcher and professor with a BA in neurobiology from Harvard,

an MSC in neuroscience from Oxford, and a PhD in psychology at the University of Pennsylvania.

Angela's early eye-opening stints in teaching, business consulting, and neuroscience led to the work

she explores in her book, GRIT. In the book, she hypothesizes that what really drives success is

not solely talent, but a unique combination of passion and long-term perseverance. Among her most

valuable insights on GRIT is that GRIT can be learned regardless of IQ or circumstances. Before we

get into the interview, I want to talk to you about the book's impact on my own training with elite athletes.

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