Key ideas based on Brian Johnson's PhilosopherNotes:
Growth Mindset - Incremental Growth.
Fixed mindset = I am born smart (requires instant gratification to always confirm this belief).
Growth Mindset = your success is proportional to your hard work.
- More focused on long term.
- Cultivate this ability via resilient and persistent effort.
“The key to pursuing excellence is to embrace an organic, long-term learning process, and not to live in a shell of static, safe mediocrity. Usually, growth comes at the expense of previous comfort or safety.”
Have Good Bad Days.
Mistakes will happen.
When mistakes start compounding and your performance tanks, grind through and try to salvage.
There is a certain beauty in being ugly yet effective.
Be Willing to Fail, A Lot.
Failure is investment in the future.
Within your talent, focus on improving the areas you aren't good at:
- Expert figure skaters work on the jumps they are good at (and often fall 20,000 times).
Let Obstacles & Setbacks Sharpen your Performance.
E.g.: a boxer who breaks his hand, still goes to the gym and practices with the other one.
"We need to put ourselves our there, give it our all, and reap the lesson, win or lose. The fact of the matter is that there will be nothing learned from any challenge in which we don’t try our hardest. Growth comes at the point of resistance. We learn by pushing ourselves and finding what really lies on the outer reaches of our abilities.”
Work Hard, Recover.
Our talent/goal doesn't require every second of our concentration.
E.g.: Michael Jordan could rest serenely on the sidelines taking 2 minute breaks during the game.
Presence in Every Moment of Life.
"Those who excel are those who maximize each moment’s creative potential—for these masters of living, presence to the day-to-day learning process is akin to that purity of focus others dream of achieving in rare climactic moments when everything is on the line."