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The Only Ingredient For Success
India White • August 13, 2021
Every human being is born with a desire to succeed, a yearning for purpose and fulfilment. Unfortunately for the vast majority of us, success has always seemed to elude us despite our best efforts to grasp it once and for all. We’ve looked online, in books, towards role models, under the bed maybe, but we just can’t seem to find answers anywhere, and we’re left with the echoing question: why can’t I succeed? Well, search no further, the answer is here… not really. That’s what we all want to hear, but if that’s how you think about success, as an answer, then you have to understand something first.
Within our ever developing world, strategies for success change almost as frequently as the people who preach them because, in essence, that is the very nature of success - impermanent and personal. The irony of your ongoing search for success is that it has always been inside of you. You, and you alone, should decide your definition of success; it can be as grand and noble as starting a company or as humble and small as taking out the trash. It all depends on you and where you find yourself at the moment. If you can’t muster up the strength to “go big” as they say, if you find yourself constantly falling short of your goals, try something smaller first, and remember, you define success. Wake up ten minutes earlier than normal. Talk to someone you haven’t spoken to in a while. Try some light exercise. Learn something new. You can build up from anywhere! You just have to get started. One small step at a time. When you begin to think of success as a marathon, rather than a sprint, it’s a lot easier to get moving, no?
But there’s more to the story. Although success is malleable, there is one crucial factor that defines a successful person; above hard work, above talent, above anything else is grit. Now, you may be asking yourself, what is grit? It’s one of those words that you can’t necessarily describe, but you’ll certainly know it when you see it. Although the dictionary likes to define grit as courage or resolve, the word didn’t really have a definition until the work of one Angela Duckworth, an American academic and psychologist for the University of Pennsylvania. In her words, grit is “sticking with your future, day in and day out, and not just for the week, not just for the month, but for years.” In other words, if you want to succeed, you have to really want it. You have to be willing to put in the work, and if you can’t put in enough, you have to learn the discipline to improve. A discipline that you can improve by simply working every day.
Like we mentioned before, success can be as small as you want, but you can’t keep it there. Yes, you can start small, but you have to keep challenging yourself to go bigger until finally, you find yourself accomplishing great things every day. But remember, success isn’t a streak. You will stumble and fail along the way. You may fail every day for an extended period of time. That uncertainty, that unknowability of where the finish line is, is incredibly difficult and scary. But, it is in that unknown where we find our true mettle. It is when we don’t know when to stop that we realize we don’t need to. No matter how many times you fail, if you can get back up and start again, that is when you’ve truly become a successful person. Once you have the mindset of a winner, that “Yes I can and I will” mentality, there is truly nothing you cannot achieve. Once you’ve passed that threshold, once you’ve eliminated all self-doubt and adopted the belief that you can and will, you, and you alone, hold the key to your success, whatever that may be.
Join us on the Let's Get Gritty Podcast with Dr. India White. On this show, we will repeat a show from the Grit and Equity talks Podcast with Dr. India White, where we walk through the recently released NAEP data from the National Report Card and speak about moving the needle forward. Listen on Spotify: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/india-white3 #grit #equity #naep #drindiawhite #nctm #ncsm #bwxme #math #teachers #students
🌟 Just wrapped up an incredible G.R.I.T. Training session with the amazing leaders from Imagine Schools! 💪✨ We took a deep dive into the G.R.I.T. framework, and I can't wait to see the results unfold! 🚀🙌 #drindiawhite #grit #imagineschools #tedx #nctm #ncsm #bwxme 🎉 (I don’t own music copyright
Check out my Feb. 2025 Newsletter!
Thankful for Partnership and Recognition: A Shoutout to Dr. Matthew Joseph and X-Factor EDU Network I am incredibly thankful to partner with Dr. Matthew Joseph and the amazing leadership of the X-Factor EDU Network! It is truly an honor to collaborate with such a visionary leader who is dedicated to amplifying voices in education and creating spaces for impactful conversations. This month, I was deeply grateful to be mentioned in Dr. Joseph’s newsletter during Black History Month. His recognition means so much, not just for me, but for the work we are all doing to inspire and empower educators and students alike. You can check out the newsletter here: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/drmxj_stongertogether-activity-7291502796753809408-0zX3?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAAmqD2wBkz8Qc7EA0bvwxWyMJH2HykCUA-Y But beyond the shoutout, I’m even more excited about the opportunities ahead—including the chance to have a podcast on Dr. Joseph’s platform! Partnering with X-Factor EDU Network opens doors to share insights, engage in meaningful discussions, and continue championing grit, resilience, and equity in education. Thank you, Dr. Matthew Joseph, for your support, encouragement, and belief in this mission. Looking forward to what’s to come! 🚀 #StrongerTogether #GRIT #XFactorEDU #BlackHistoryMonth #EducationalLeadership #Thankful
Fired Up for FDLA/FAMTE Keynote: Let’s Build Grit Together! I’m beyond excited to take the stage as the keynote speaker at the FDLA/FAMTE Conference tomorrow! 🎤🔥 We’ll be diving deep into the power of G.R.I.T.—Great Resilience in Time—and how it transforms both educators and students. This opportunity means so much, and I’m grateful to everyone who has supported this journey. Grit isn’t just a concept; it’s a movement. It’s about growth mindset, resilience, self-efficacy, and time management, and it’s what drives success in the classroom and beyond. Let’s empower educators and students across the nation to push past obstacles and embrace productive struggle. Who’s ready to get gritty? 💪🏾 #Grit #DrIndiaWhite #TEDx #FDLA #FAMTE #Education #GrowthMindset
Had an Amazing Time at the Imagine Summit! I had a fantastic time speaking at the Imagine Summit on G.R.I.T.! 🙌🏽 We engaged in powerful breakout sessions, had meaningful discussions about NAEP data, and explored strategies to build **growth mindset, resilience, self-efficacy, and time management** in education. Thank you to everyone who participated and brought such great energy to the conversations! Let’s continue working together to bridge gaps and empower students through grit and perseverance. 💪🏽 #GRIT #ImagineSummit #Resilience #Education #GrowthMindset #EquityInEducation #drindiawhite
Building Grit in Teachers at the Imagine Leadership Summit I am beyond excited to be speaking at the Imagine Leadership Summit today, sharing insights on how we can build grit in teachers and empower them to foster resilience, self-efficacy, and growth in their students. 🌟 This summit is an incredible opportunity to collaborate with principals and education leaders who are committed to supporting and strengthening teachers. When we invest in teacher grit, we build stronger, more effective classrooms where students develop the perseverance to tackle challenges and achieve success. A huge thank you to the Imagine Summit leaders for this amazing opportunity! It’s an honor to be among such an outstanding lineup of speakers, including the incredible Kyle Pearce and Jon Orr. Join our sessions today and take GRIT with you—because when teachers grow in resilience, our students thrive! #GRIT #Teachers #Principals #DrIndiaWhite #NCTM #NCSM #ImagineSummit 😊
🌟 What an incredible time at the ICTM conference in Indiana! The lineup was amazing, and the energy was contagious! 🎉 Since I missed the snow back in Florida, I embraced it fully here and made my very first snow angel! ❄️ So grateful for the fun and gritty spirit of the ICTM rockstars! Huge thanks to Angela and every rockstar for this fantastic opportunity! 💙 #drindiawhite #grit #ictm25 #math #teachers #students #indiana #nctm #ncsm
✨ Today’s Grit training at Stockton Unified was absolutely amazing! We had a fantastic time connecting with friends and meeting some incredible rockstars in California. 🌟 I can’t wait to see how gritty Stockton becomes! Huge thanks to Andrew and the tribe for the opportunity to train your amazing leaders. Let’s all take grit with us as we move forward! 💪 #Grit #Leadership #StocktonUnified #drindiawhite #tedx #nctm #ncsm #nabse
🎊Super excited about this opportunity! Looking forward to connecting with these amazing leaders! 🥰🥳🎉 Please register below and let’s connect so we can bridge the achievement gap together! hashtag#drindiawhite hashtag#ncsm hashtag#grit hashtag#math hashtag#teachers