My new favorite book is Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, How We Can Learn to Fulfill Potential, written by Dr. Carol Dweck in 2006.  I've only said that a book was my 'favorite book' 2 other times (The Fountainhead and The Poisonwood Bible).  But yes, now it's Mindset.  Mindset is my new favorite book.  

doesn't Dr. Dweck seem nice?

Generally speaking, there are two types of people who could really benefit from this book:

1. Parents
2. People who feel like they haven't/aren't living up to their full potential (ie. people who aren't Steve Jobs.  Man, that guy really had his stuff together.)

So yea, that's basically everyone.  Moving on-



There are a great many compelling stories in this book.  Here's one of them: 
There was this math grad student at Berkeley named George Danzig who was always late to class.  On one such day he rushed into class and saw 2 homework problems written on the chalkboard.  He quickly jotted them down.  Later, when he sat down to do these homework problems, he was taken aback at how difficult they were.  It took him several days of hard work to crack them open and solve them.  

The thing is though...these 2 math problems turned out not to have been that week's homework, but rather, they were 2 super famous math problems that had never been solved.  Our boy George decided to dig in and get in there, regardless of the fact that he felt overwhelmed.


Here is the main idea that Dr. Dweck crystalizes for her readers with research, anecdotes and experimental findings:

• Effort is KING!  Important achievements require a clear focus and all-out effort.  To be good at X, you need to learn techniques and skills and practice them regularly.  The best pilots fly more than the others; that's why they're the best.  No matter what your ability is, effort is what ignites that ability and turns it into accomplishment. 

Dr. Dweck points to a few children who seem to be born with heightened talents and obsessive interests, and who, through relentless pursuit of said interests, become amazingly accomplished.  So, it's not really that these children were gifted naturals, they just became awesome at X thing because they were obsessed with it and did it all the time.  

Babies are the perfect example of the growth mindset – they never decide that learning to walk and talk isn't worth the effort and humiliation.  They fall, they get up and and barge forward.


http://mindsetonline.com/abouttheauthor/




These ideas remind me of a recent episode of Jerry Seinfeld's internet TV show Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee.  The one where the other comedian is Chris Rock-

'Kids Need Bullying' -Chris Rock

in this scene Rock is talking about his passion for Kentucky Fried Chicken and Popeye's-

So, our comedians arrive at a charming coffee joint somewhere in New Jersey.  They're having coffee and chatting it up.  They seem to be best friends – genuinely happy to be in one another's company (I wish I  had more friends like that).  

Rock: 'Everybody is tryin' to get rid of bullying.  Are you kidding?  Some of these kids need this...I'll go even further, most kids need bullying.  Who's gonna be the guy who cures AIDS?  Who's gonna be the guy who replaces fossil fuels?  Some guy that was bullied, that's who's gonna do it!'

Seinfeld, clearly interested where Rock is going to take this one, offers an encouraging response:

'Yea, ya know, my wife is always trying to keep the boys from beating up on each other....and I'm like, no, this is it.'

Rock: 'This is LIFE!  My wife wants everything to be fair.'

Then Rock describes his daughter's recent basketball game.  Lola isn't very good at basketball, which is why the coach didn't put her in the game.  Mrs. Rock was pissed off...

Rock (tapping Jerry's shoulder): 'Ya know, honey, there's a way to get in the game... I'm just sayin'.  Ya know...there's a way to get in the game.'

Seinfeld: 'Other than having your mother....'

Rock: 'Yea yea.  Some kids actually got in the game.  Ya know, I did tell my daughter...I used to go to the comedy club...and they would not put me on.  I used to get there at 7:45, and I would wait there 'til 1:30, 2:00 in the morning and not get on.  But I'd worked on it, I worked.'

Seinfeld: 'I'll tell you what one of the great activities is, skateboarding.  To learn to do a skateboard trick...how many times you gotta do something wrong to get it right?  You fall, you hurt yourself, you learn to do that trick....now you got a life lesson.  Whenever I see those skateboard kids...I think, those kids 'll be alright.'    



I tell you what, these guys are profound, they're funny, they're profoundly funny.  I can't think of better things to be-

http://comediansincarsgettingcoffee.com/chris-rock-kids-need-bullying

The Perot Museum is the best thing ever.  It's a huge indoor playground with a gusty air conditioning system.  Love that air conditioner.  Lots of people go there on the weekdays, lots of people go there on the weekends.  Everybody's doing it, including us on both the weekdays and weekends.  Poppy plays in their children's museum.  It's got everything:

• campground (complete with a tent and fake campfire),
• a traditional-ish playground area with a slide attached to a convincing replica of reunion tower,
• an area where kids play and experiment with water, and 
• an area where kids play with plastic fruit and plastic flowers.  

'should i be worried about that furry animal?'

The only negative thing I'd say about the Perot Museum is that the staff seems palpably pissed off about something.  Very cranky indeed-  

http://www.perotmuseum.org/visit-the-museum/hours-admission.html

If She Doesn't Stop Doing It Soon...It'll Be Too Late

There are two options: either Poppy quits doing X thing right this instant...or she'll be doing X thing until she goes to college.  And there isn't much time...  

I've heard this 'do you want her to still be doing X when she goes to college?' racket about a variety of babies' humane habits.  Let me furnish you with a recent example:

me:  'Does it really matter that Poppy is still drinking her milk out of a bottle?'

Matt:  'Well, she can't still be drinking from a bottle when she goes off to college!'  

me:  'These are the options?'


It wouldn't be that big of a deal if she did drink liquids from a bottle in college.  Why not?  Maybe that could be her thing, a statement of individuality.  

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