Angela Duckworth, Professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, shared some of her research findings regarding successful people in a recent article in The New York Times. She said the one trait that successful people have in common is a willingness to ask for help. As she put it, “Without exception, every high performer I’ve studied credits a host of supporters for success. Research has found that a willingness to ask for help is crucial to achievement.” She went on to say, “College students who seek assistance from others outperform those who avoid doing so.” This gets back to the old Dale Carnegie adage: “If you expect to accomplish anything during your life that is worthy of note, you have to remember one thing. You can’t do it by yourself; you need all the help you can get.” What all this means is that asking for help is not something we should be embarrassed to do. Rather, we need to realize that it’s the most direct route to success.

One Sentence Wisdom

• “Help is the bridge between where you are and where you can be.” — Lena Archer
• “We were never meant to climb every mountain alone.”  – -Daniel Armitage

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