Psychologist and author Angela Duckworth describes the motivational reaction sparked when someone tells an ambitious person that a goal cannot be achieved.
“I have this I'll show you response that I, Feel like I should write a whole book about, like, Jerry Seinfeld has it, Michelle Obama. I mean, there's so many stories where the moment someone says, oh, that's impossible, you curl your fist into a ball, there's a fire in your belly, you lean forward, and you say to yourself, and sometimes out loud, I'll show you.”
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