A Review of Carol S. Dweck’s Book Mindset - Wake the Fun Up

A Review of Carol S. Dweck’s Book Mindset

How Does Mindset Influence Personal and Professional Achievement?

Dweck explains how people view themselves and their abilities can have a greater impact than their intelligence, talent or personality when it comes to success or failure. There are two types of mindsets;  fixed mindset and growth mindset. 

What is a Fixed Mindset?

People with a fixed mindset believe their abilities are carved in stone. People experience limited success because they are resigned to believing their abilities are predetermined and therefore make little effort to develop.  They may ask themselves “what’s the use, I am who I am?"

Something to Prove to the World

Dweck mentions people with a fixed mindset have a need to prove their intelligence, abilities in order to cover up their short comings. They look for opportunities to confirm or assert greatness. This comes from insecurity.  An example, if people with a fixed mindset succeed, they believe it’s because they are smart.  If they fail, it’s because they’re not smart enough.

Failure Becomes Personal

When people with a fixed mindset fail, it’s personal.  They see every failure as part of their identity. They know instinctively if they try again, they may be forced to confront their weaknesses, so they throw in the towel and move on.  The alternative is far too scary.

What is Growth Mindset?

People with growth mindsets believe their abilities are changeable. These people are more likely to flourish because they actively seek opportunities to grow, stretch with new challenges. They continually develop their skills.  Individuals with growth mindsets don’t take defeat personally, but accept challenges as an opportunity to learn, embrace and ultimately master something new.  

Something to Prove to Ourselves

Unlike people with fixed mindsets who have something to prove, people with growth mindsets spend less time trying to convince others how good they are and a lot more time trying to get better. They believe their innate abilities are just the beginning and with effort and hard work they can change and grow.  

Failure is an Opportunity for Growth

Failure is a painful experience and they embrace it as an essential part of the growth process. Success grows out of commitment, hard work, determination to take on new challenges. Taking risks is about learning, growing and maximizing potential.

Michael Jordan Demonstrates His Growth Mindset in the Quote Below

“I've missed more than 9000 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.”
― Michael Jordan

Where Do Our Mindsets Come From?

Carol S. Dweck maintains that parents, teachers, coaches influence us and either foster a fixed or a growth mindset.  It’s all about how success and setbacks have been framed along the way.  To nurture a fixed mindset success is tied to innate abilities and the impact of set backs is minimized. Whereas, a growth mindset is nurtured when success is tied to effort and failure is framed as a learning opportunity.

Good News!  

We Can All Grow Our Growth Mindsets

This may mean stepping out of our comfort zones and giving up a part of ourselves. It may mean letting go of beliefs that once made us feel safe and secure.  Moving into the unknown can be daunting.  It starts with a desire for change. This is a process that takes time.

The Fixed Mindset Lives Within All of Us

The fixed mindset is within all of us and can surface when the stakes seem high. It’s easy for all of us to believe we are supposed to be good at something and if we aren’t we’re incompetent or worse. We may feel we will make fools of ourselves if we don’t deliver.

The Growth Mindset Lives Within Us Too!

In the growth mindset, we know it takes time to master new skills and it’s a process. Sharing our fears with people who have been where we are and learning how they overcame challenges has been key to our success.

The Solution That Worked

Venturing into the digital world and learning to become affiliate marketers, wow talk about scary! We found an educational community and program called Six Figure Mentors that helped us along the way.  When everything is unknown, it’s easy to stop, believing it’s too hard.  Thankfully we were surrounded with people who were successful and knew the pitfalls of the journey.  We are part of Mastermind groups where people share what’s worked and what hasn’t.  We are able to avoid some of the challenges by learning from the mistakes made by others.  

Learning From Others

We have one-on-one coaching where we are able to learn from the best.  As well, training modules are current and easily accessible. This digital world is dynamic and every changing.  We have access to best practices that allow us to stay ahead of the game.

We encourage everyone to challenge the fixed-mindset within. It worked for us. We now have skills we never dreamed possible, as well as the freedom to work when we want, wherever we want in world.  All we need is access to the internet.

We look forward to joining you on your online journey.

Adrienne and Bob Lifestyle Entrepreneurs

Adrienne & Bob

We are digital entrepreneurs who took a courageous leap to start our online business. We have owned an executive recruitment company for over twenty years. The industry is being rapidly disrupted by technology. As a result of the skills we have learned our recruitment business is 100% virtual. Both of our businesses allow us flexibility to work when and where we want and do the things we enjoy.