Tag: Michael Jordan

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Community Drop the FEAR and Focus on the FAITH Drop the ME and focus on the OTHERS Guiding Lights: A Journey of Courage, Compassion and Faith Leadership Development Self-Improve Small Businesses Workforce Development

Mindset: The New Psychology of SuccessBy Carol S. Dweck, PhD

Introduction: The way we think about our abilities and potential greatly affects our success. This book discusses two mindsets: fixed and growth.

1. The Two Mindsets:

  • Fixed Mindset: Belief that qualities like intelligence and talent are static. People with this mindset often avoid challenges to avoid failure.
  • Growth Mindset: Belief that abilities can be developed with dedication and hard work. These individuals love learning and often embrace challenges.

2. How Mindsets are Formed: From a young age, praise can shape our mindset. Praising intelligence can lead to a fixed mindset, while praising effort encourages a growth mindset.

3. The Truth About Ability and Accomplishment: Natural talent is not a clear indicator of success. A growth mindset can lead to perseverance and resilience, crucial factors for achieving long-term goals.

4. Sports: The Mindset of a Champion: Athletes with a growth mindset, such as Michael Jordan, faced failures as opportunities to learn, which often made them legends in their field.

5. Business: Mindset and Leadership: Fixed-mindset leaders often feel threatened by others’ success. Growth-mindset leaders, on the other hand, often foster positive team environments.

6. Relationships: Mindsets in Love (or Not): In relationships, a fixed mindset can lead to blaming partners for problems. A growth mindset can lead to understanding and working together to improve the relationship.

7. Parenting, Teaching, and Coaching: How we interact with young people can foster one mindset over the other. Encouraging effort and perseverance, rather than innate talent, can foster a growth mindset.

8. Changing Mindsets: It’s possible to change one’s mindset. By understanding triggers and re-framing challenges as opportunities to grow, individuals can shift from a fixed to a growth mindset.

In essence, Dr. Dweck’s research emphasizes the power of belief in shaping our actions, outcomes, and ultimately our lives. The book provides actionable insights on how to cultivate a growth mindset for success in personal and professional domains.

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Drop the FEAR and Focus on the FAITH Drop the ME and focus on the OTHERS Guiding Lights: A Journey of Courage, Compassion and Faith Self-Improve Small Businesses Workforce Development

Embracing Imperfection: The Power of Acting Now and Refining Later

In today’s fast-paced world, the quest for perfection often hinders progress. The belief that we must be perfect before taking action can stifle creativity, halt innovation, and deter us from achieving our goals. As the saying goes, “Don’t wait or think about perfection before making any action. Just act and tune as you do it.”

1. The Paralysis of Perfection

Perfection is a lofty goal, and while striving for it can be commendable, waiting for the perfect moment or the perfect plan can lead to inaction. Procrastination, often rooted in the fear of making mistakes or being judged, prevents us from moving forward. As Robert H. Schuller rightly said, “Better to do something imperfectly than to do nothing perfectly.”

2. Learning Through Action

Trial and error form the foundation of learning. By acting and then refining, we get immediate feedback on what works and what doesn’t. This iterative process, popularized in agile methodologies and lean startup principles, emphasizes the importance of continuous improvement over waiting for the perfect solution.

3. Experience Does Not Equate to Perfection

Even the most experienced individuals are not immune to mistakes. Every master was once a beginner, and every expert has made errors along their journey. NBA legend Michael Jordan once noted, “I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” This underscores the point that experience does not guarantee perfection, but rather offers a plethora of learning opportunities.

4. Perfection is Subjective

What is perfect to one person might be flawed to another. Designers, artists, and creators often find themselves revising their works based on varying feedback. It’s a continuous loop of adaptation and innovation. If they had waited for a universally accepted “perfect” design, they might never have released anything at all.

5. Divine Perfection

The concept of divine perfection transcends human understanding. Many religious texts and teachings, from the Bible to the Quran, and the Bhagavad Gita to Buddhist sutras, emphasize the idea that perfection is a divine attribute, and humans, while made in the image of the divine, are inherently fallible. As the saying goes, “Only GOD can be perfect.”

6. Conclusion: Embrace Imperfection

Instead of being paralyzed by the pursuit of perfection, embrace the beauty of imperfection. Take action, learn from the outcomes, and refine your approach. By doing so, not only do you open doors to new opportunities and experiences, but you also grow personally and professionally. Remember, it’s not about being perfect, it’s about being in motion.