"Stay positive," Cody said. "Go past those negative beliefs in what's possible and impossible and just give it a try." - Angela Duckworth

A fixed mindset about ability leads to pessimistic explanations of adversity, and that, in turn, leads to both giving up on challenges and avoiding them in the first place. In contrast, a growth mindset leads to optimistic ways of explaining adversity, and that, in turn, leads to perseverance and seeking out new challenges that will ultimately make you even stronger.

But if, instead, you define genius as working toward excellence, ceaselessly, with every element of your being — then, in fact, my dad is a genius, and so am I, and so is Coates, and, if you're willing, so are you.

It was this combination of passion and perseverance that made high achievers special. In a word, they had grit.