Chapter 7
PARENTS, TEACHERS, AND COACHES: WHERE DO
MINDSETS COME FROM?
No parent thinks, “I wonder what I can do today to undermine my children,
subvert their effort, turn them off learning, and limit their achievement.” Of
course not. They think, “I would do anything, give anything, to make my
children successful.” Yet many of the things they do boomerang. Their helpful
judgments, their lessons, their motivating techniques often send the wrong
message.
Chapter 8
CHANGING MINDSETS
The growth mindset is based on the belief in change, and the most gratifying part
of my work is watching people change. Nothing is better than seeing people find
their way to things they value. This chapter is about kids and adults who found
their way to using their abilities. And about how all of us can do that.
Chapter 6
RELATIONSHIPS: MINDSETS IN LOVE (OR NOT)
What was that about the course of true love never running smooth? Well,
the
course to true love isn’t so smooth, either. That path is often strewn with
disappointments and heartbreaks. Some people let these experiences scar
them
and prevent them from forming satisfying relationships in the future.
Chapter 5
BUSINESS: MINDSET AND LEADERSHIP
ENRON AND THE TALENT MINDSET
In 2001 came the announcement that shocked the corporate world. Enron
—the
corporate poster child, the company of the future—had gone belly-up.
Chapter 4
SPORTS: THE MINDSET OF A CHAMPION
In sports, everybody believes in talent. Even—or especially—the experts. In
fact,
sports is where the idea of “a natural” comes from—someone who looks
like an
athlete, moves like an athlete, and is an athlete, all without trying. So great
is the
belief in natural talent that many scouts and coaches search only for
naturals, and
teams will vie with each other to pay exorbitant amounts to recruit them.
Billy Beane was a natural. Everyone agreed he was the next Babe Ruth.
But Billy Beane lacked one thing. The mindset of a champion.
Chapter 3
THE TRUTH ABOUT ABILITY AND ACCOMPLISHMENT
Try to picture Thomas Edison as vividly as you can. Think about where he
is and
what he’s doing. Is he alone? I asked people, and they always said things
like
this:
“He’s in his workshop surrounded by equipment. He’s working on the
phonograph, trying things. He succeeds! [Is he alone?] Yes, he’s doing this
stuff
alone because he’s the only one who knows what he’s after.”
Chapter 2
INSIDE THE MINDSETS
When I was a young woman, I wanted a prince-like mate. Very handsome,
very
successful. A big cheese. I wanted a glamorous career, but nothing too hard
or
risky. And I wanted it all to come to me as validation of who I was.
It would be many years before I was satisfied. I got a great guy, but he was
a
work in progress. I have a great career, but boy, is it a constant challenge.
Nothing was easy. So why am I satisfied? I changed my mindset.
One day, my students sat me down and ordered me to write this book. They
wanted people to be able to use our work to make their lives better. It was
something I’d wanted to do for a long time, but it became my number one
priority.
Chapter 1
THE MINDSETS
When I was a young researcher, just starting out, something happened that
changed my life. I was obsessed with understanding how people cope with
failures, and I decided to study it by watching how students grapple with
hard
problems. So I brought children one at a time to a room in their school,
made
them comfortable, and then gave them a series of puzzles to solve. The first
ones
were fairly easy, but the next ones were hard. As the students grunted,
perspired,
and toiled, I watched their strategies and probed what they were thinking
and
feeling.