My dream course for every university is Failure 101, where you would sign up and set out to fail.
Can Character be Learned?
Setup
When we look for attributes of strong leaders, we look for creativity and curiosity, integrity and empathy, diligence and discipline. Ideally, a great leader embodies all of these attributes, which collectively describe their character, and these leaders invariably point to influences including parents, teachers, mentors, and to critical episodes, including failures. This suggests that we can study and then reverse-engineer the development of great leaders. Leading-edge psychologist Angela Duckworth, whose best seller Grit explores how passion and perseverance lead to high achievement, and Jackie Bezos, fierce advocate for childhood development and youth leadership, discuss what we know about paragons of character, and how we may be able to put that knowledge to use.
- 2018 Festival
- Society
Big IdeaThere isn’t a moment of life where children are not learning. There is not a moment in life when they aren’t imitating. There is not a moment in life when they are not generalizing. They are figuring things out. And when they see you talk a certain way, act a certain way, flinch or not flinch with people who maybe aren’t the same color as you, maybe of a different social class — everything that you can imagine that you would care about bringing out in your kids, they are watching from the earliest days.Angela Duckworth
Learn More
Additional Information
Resources
Grit: The Power of Passion and Perserverance
Explore More
Society
Young people in America are struggling. The causes are varied and may not be entirely clear, but the results are unfortunately unmistakable. Many of our youth feel lonely, iso...
Friends, partners, children, families, coworkers — these connections profoundly shape our lives, and even in the best of times, navigating them takes real work. It also means...
New York Times columnist and bestselling author David Brooks is known for bringing his thoughtful reflections on politics and culture, but at this year’s Aspen Ideas Festival,...
Jump in by watching our 15 most popular talks of all time. From black holes to jazz and civil rights to psychology hacks, we've collected the talks that remain audience favori...
Finding the national and global headlines understandably bleak lately? Whether you need mental distraction or stimulation, engross yourself in compelling topics and get a gli...
Today's kids are coming of age against a backdrop of political, social, technological and economic upheaval. While these circumstances are shaping a precocious generation that...
Hope seems like a simple concept, but the feeling can be difficult to hold onto. And when times are difficult and chaos swirls around us, it’s more important than ever. How do...
Advocates, healthcare providers, legislators, researchers, and venture capitalists are bringing the unique health needs of women to light – from vigorous policy debates on iss...
Ethical dilemmas, stakeholder pressure, building trust — leading organizations requires wisdom and stamina from the top. Who wouldn’t want some advice?
What makes us happy — really? How can we raise resilient and empathetic children? What does it mean to be truly connected in our increasingly digital world? Can we re-instill...
Our need for human connection is profound and deep. Yet, today, one in two adults are living with measurable levels of loneliness – and the numbers are even higher among young...
Conflict and suffering can bring out the worst in people, but it can also bring out the best. This is one of the lessons New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof has learned...
The federal right to abortions in the United States has been overturned, access to contraception and IVF services are threatened in many states, and the gender wage gap persis...
Henry Louis Gates Jr. — one of America’s leading public intellectuals and director of the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research at Harvard — explains the i...
A nonbinary comedian challenges us to question our notions of self, gender and society, and opens our eyes to what we may gain in the process.
Why do some conversations succeed while others stumble? The neurology and psychology of communication offer surprising explanations for why human connection goes right or wron...
The rollback of reproductive rights, the push to end no-fault divorce, and gun laws that allow domestic abusers to own a firearm are turning the clock back on women’s rights....
Women are twice as likely to invest in female-led businesses. Explore the ways women approach wealth building and investment, and how they create opportunities to build financ...
With ESG caught in the political culture wars, business executives must decide to speak up or stay quiet about climate, diversity and democracy. What do employees and citizens...
Marriage rates have been decreasing for decades, but that doesn’t mean people aren’t finding new ways to create family ties that bind. Family bonds in the LGBTQ community and...