The Power of Persistence: Cultivating a Gritty Mindset
The struggle that is learning something new is nothing compared to the hard work and dedication that goes into achieving success. The Power of Persistence: Cultivating a Gritty Mindset can be broken down into three parts: grit, growth mindset, and gratitude. Grit refers to an unconditional will to succeed despite repeated setbacks. Growth mindset instills a belief in oneself as someone who can develop skills through effort and hard work. And gratitude amplifies optimism as it creates the feeling of appreciation for every moment that has ever come before you.
Author Tali Sharot starts out by providing examples of successful leaders who went through hard times and dedicated themselves to what they were working on. These people have become some of the greatest names in history because they were relentless in their pursuit for success. The author also provides explanations of how you can become more optimistic by changing your mindset about your abilities. For instance, a growth mindset allows you to accept failure as an essential part of learning something new. There will be setbacks and failures, but this is all apart of the learning process that can propel us towards our goals. She also describes gratitude as a feeling that promotes optimism because it helps us recognize all that we have instead of focusing on what we do not have or cannot do.
You can develop grit, a growth mindset, and gratitude by taking a class in psychology because it provides the tools that are necessary to succeed. This class is a must for everyone because it will help students to increase their ambitions and set bigger goals in life.
Reading this book really made me think about my own personal attitude when it comes to reaching goals. I have always been one to give up after something doesn't work out right away. It was hard for me to accept failure as a part of learning something new. I have always struggled with being grateful for what I already have instead of focusing on what is missing from my life. I will focus more on gratitude and appreciation in the future.
The book is one that everyone should read and assess their own attitudes.
Rating: 4 stars out of 5
Title: The Leadership Challenge: Making Change Happen in the Real World
by Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner
(Summary taken from Amazon) The real world is filled with testing, uncertainty, complexity, ambiguity, and complexity. It presents leaders with tough challenges that must be faced up-front to succeed. In this new and powerful general guide to leadership, leading experts Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner—the authors of the bestselling Leader to Leader—offer proven measures for assessing performance across a broad range of domains. These include setting direction, gaining commitment, building the talent you need, driving change, and more.
This influential guide identifies five key leadership practices—clarity, courage, connection, commitment, and contribution—and offers a set of practical tools for applying them. It also contains interviews with more than 30 executives who share how they have drawn upon the Leadership Practices to achieve success in their own careers and organizations.
Written by prominent researchers in an engaging style that includes illustrative stories of real-life leaders at work—The Leadership Challenge will help leaders large and small make a positive difference in their business and professional lives.
For anyone who is looking to improve themselves as a person or leader they should read this book cover to cover. It is filled with so much inspirational advice and knowledge. Some of the key concepts that stand out are having a vision, staying true to it, encouraging the people around you, and being open to change. I found this book to be absolutely incredible because it provides information on what it takes to be at the top and how you can get there.
Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner lay out five essential leadership practices that serve as a foundation for successful leadership in any organization. Challenge, Inspire, Enable, Support, and Develop are the five categories that present guidelines to follow. Even if you are not a boss or leader in an organization these practices can help you navigate through life with ease. I personally enjoyed reading about how leaders inspire others and develop them as people.
I especially liked the challenge concept because it forces you to reflect on your own actions and how others perceive them. The most important ideas that come from challenge is staying true to your vision while being able to adapt when necessary. When challenges arise we must make sure we stay true to our vision while also making adjustments when needed. If a leader is not adapting they will not be able to keep up with the ever-changing world around them.
The most important thing I took from this book was the importance of being flexible. Being able to adapt and change your perspective is vital to success. The world around us evolves along with our environment and behaviors so we need to grow with it.
Rating 3/5 stars
Title: Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol S. Dweck (and Stanford University researchers)
(Summary taken from Amazon) In this groundbreaking book, Dr. Carol Dweck, a renowned psychologist, addresses our assumptions about the nature of talent and success—and how you can nurture the growth mindset in your children, students, and co-workers to help them reach their fullest potential.
As a psychologist, author, and researcher at Stanford University, Dr. Dweck has dedicated her career to the study of motivation and the ways in which it affects all aspects of human development. Through her groundbreaking work in this area, she established a better understanding of the role that mindset plays in our lives. As a result, she has developed two specific ideas: Mindset: The New Psychology of Success focuses on these two ideas—the “growth mindset” and the “fixed mindset”—and offers practical advice that anyone can use to help their athletes perform better or their students perform better at school; or any profession where improvement is key to success.
Throughout this book, Dr. Dweck provides many examples and case studies, providing real-life lessons in what you can do to increase your willpower, confidence, and overall mindset. Also included are numerous exercises designed to help readers strengthen their mindset through a more positive lens.
This is a book that will inspire anyone to be more confident in their abilities and strive to accomplish goals they actually have power over. The information on how to build a growth mindset was very eye opening because it will help those who are going through tough times or may be hesitant on taking risks in life.
Rating: 4/5 stars
Title: The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph by Ryan Holiday (and Ryan Holiday)
(Summary taken from Amazon) If there's one particular trait that makes the world's greatest leaders tick, it's the habit of overcoming obstacles. Transform every challenge into an opportunity, and you change your life forever. RYAN HOLIDAY shows us how this is accomplished through his bestselling book The Obstacle Is the Way—in a series of riveting true stories, he shares what he has learned about failure, success, and transformation in his own life and with some of history's most fascinating figures.
Conclusion: These books are full of information that can be applied to your life. Be it being a parent, child, athlete, or boss. All of these books can provide inspiration and insight into the leadership concepts that are needed for you to succeed in whatever you do in life. I would highly recommend reading all of these books if you are looking for guidance on becoming a better leader whether long-term or short-term.
Time Management Tips: Time management is essential to your success as an athlete or any other person who has goals and aspirations. Learning how to manage time effectively will help you eliminate procrastination and prioritize your tasks so they can be accomplished as efficiently as possible.