Living In Your Top 1% summary

When you try your hand at something new and fail, how do you react?

This question is explored in the book Mindset by Carol Dweck, a psychologist at Stanford University. According to Dweck, there are two distinct types of mindsets.

We all have our weaknesses, and many of us think we should devote a lot of effort to fixing them. But in fact, it would be more productive and much less of a chore to focus on our strengths, working with what we’re already good at – for example, at work.

This strength-based approach is an important prerequisite for personal excellence. This was shown through decades of research by the Gallup Organization on how people can excel and be their best every day.

Every mentor, life coach and self-help author says the same thing: you have to leave your comfort zone to challenge yourself and develop as an individual.

But what may be surprising is that you shouldn’t stray too far.

If you don’t yet have clearly defined goals in life, it’s time to make them.

Why?

Once you’ve set your goals, it’s time to take action to attain them. If you want to become healthier, for example, you need to start exercising!

You’ll probably quickly realize that you have lots of paths toward achieving your health goal. You could start running, hiking, biking, swimming, shooting hoops, lifting weights and so on. So how do you choose the right course of action for you?

Nothing meaningful in life can be achieved easily. So don’t delude yourself into thinking that you can reach your goals and become your best possible self without putting in lots of hard work and overcoming a few obstacles on the way.

What’s important is that you shouldn’t let a few bumps discourage you from your quest. Adversity is just an inevitable part of your journey to success.

The Chinese philosopher Confucius once said, “Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.”

He was right. Resilience – the ability to bounce back from setbacks and keep going – is a key determinant of success.

We spend our lives juggling our time and attention among things that are important to us, such as work, family, friends and hobbies. We strive for balance, hoping that one or two areas don’t overwhelm everything else to the point of neglect.

You probably know some people who are particularly adept at this balancing act. They are the ones who are always busy but still find time to help you move or meet for lunch. But others are obviously completely out of balance: they may have little going on but never manage to return a phone call.