Do you assume success comes from an innate talent or ability? Why are there brilliant individuals who don't reach their potential or realize their ability, yet there are individuals who appear not so brilliant who are highly successful? How did they do it??
I don't think I can really answer that. I think people are successful because of drive. The have an inner drive that propels them to successes. Having a talent does help, but I feel if someone is very successful at something it is because they have determination and perseverance. I think that is why people who don't seem brilliant are successful, they don't give up or take no as an answer. That alone is a mindset~ to not to give up, even when everything is against you. Most people give up.
ReplyDeleteIf you hear anyone's "success story", it is outnumbered by the number of failures that came first. I agree with you in that perseverance can make all the difference.
DeleteI think the one think that we 'fail' to talk about is failure. We highlight only the success stories which leaves kids thinking that success should be instant. Our other fault is that we quickly dismiss or throw away our failures rather than taking the time to learn from them.
DeleteHeidi, I couldn't agree more. I think we are doing our students a huge disservice in that respect. Failure simply means that they are trying.
DeleteI believe that people who set goals, see the big picture, and can delay gratification are the people who end up being successful. As teachers I think that it is important we that we work to teach students to see the big picture. Due to limited life experiences, their world is very small. They often can’t see the forest through the trees.
DeleteI agree that dedication, drive and perseverance contributes to success. I think that those with innate talent or ability do not always realize their true potentials because things have come so easily that they do not always push themselves to do better.
DeleteI think it is a combination of talent/ability and ambition. Many brilliant individuals never reach their potential because they simply don't have the desire or drive to do so. While there are others who may not be brilliant, but definitely have a strong will to be successful. That is a great example of mindset.
ReplyDeleteKaren, I'm glad you mentioned ambition. I forgot to mention that in my post and I do feel that a lot of people's success is driven by ambition!
DeleteI believe success is different for everyone. I also believe people are brilliant in different ways. Some people are brilliant with their minds, others with their hands. Brilliance isn't always being book smart. I agree with Audrey that it is a difficult question to answer. People have to be motivated, hard working, dedicated, ambitious, and have a growth mindset in order to be successful. It takes a lot of determination, but people of all intellectual abilities can be successful.
ReplyDeleteI agree that brilliance comes in all forms and book smart is not the only option! I often tell people that we need people that are brilliant and talented in several different ways to make a society successful.
DeleteSue, I agree success is different for everyone. Everyone can be successful in their own ways!
DeleteBrilliant isn't always book smart! Love it!!!
DeleteFunny because as we address mindset, I realize that I consider someone willing to seek out new information as a factor of intelligence. An open mindedness.
I believe it is a combination of drive and talent. As an art teacher and artist I have worked very hard to develop my teaching career and artistic skills. Over the years I have had people and students say to me "wow, you are so talented! I could never do that!" My response to them is "I took all of the art classes I could in high school, my mom paid for extra art classes for me as a kid, I went to college for art, I create my own artwork in my own time and constantly attend workshops and professional development opportunities and I have been teaching art for 14 years. I do this every day and it is my passion. I f it was you passion and you worked at it that hard you could be just as successful."
ReplyDeleteI also say to my middle school students that art class is what they make of it and what effort they put into it. I understand that not everyone is going to be a great artist but as long as they put in the effort they will be successful.
I believe drive and passion has a lot to do with it too. I am not a great athlete. yes I swam competitively for 8 years of my child hood and still lap swim today but I do not play other sports. I am not coordinated enough to. I am sure if I practiced i woudl get better at them but I do not have the drive or desire to do that so I know I will remain uncoordinated because I am not putting the effort into it. As my husband jokes with me "I throw like an artist" Yes I do- because I am an artist and that is what my passion and driving force in my life is.
Putting forth effort is the key to success.
DeleteI do not have art talent. In fact, I probably have a fixed mindset about that. I went to a catholic grade school and when I switched to LP High School, I was afraid to take art because I had had no training like the students at LP did throughout their schooling. I was afraid to go into art class and have no background information, and no innate talent either. So I guess I missed out because my GPA was more important to me than allowing myself to make mistakes and learn something new.
DeleteLori, I agree with you. I was that Catholic School girl too who didn't have the same opportunities. I know some people will say you need to create your own opportunities, and that may be true. But, sometimes as a child, you are somewhat limited as to where your parents can take you. I too have a fear of failure, and that does limit one's potential in other ways. One can be a hard worker, but be so afraid of the next steps, that they never take them. I see this in several of my students. I try to help them reach their potential and dreams as best as I can.
DeleteHA. Catholic school girls unite! I loved to draw, then in 3rd grade I remember getting busier with schoolwork. In my head, art was not as important, so I became more "booksmart" in my academics.
DeleteKelly,
DeleteCute stories. Thank you for sharing. If you throw like an artist, then I'm not sure what I throw like... a 3 year old?? lol.
As an art teacher and artist it is so sad to hear the stories of creativity being forgotten as we get older. My only hope is that I can instill a confidence in my middle school students that, even if they don't make a career of it, they will always be an artist if that is what they love to do. It is sad to see it forgotten when kids grow up and get busy with other things as they become an adult.
DeleteHow is success measured: money, careers, possessions? Or is it measured by happiness and positive self-image? I would rather be happy with have a supportive family and group of friends, then monetary success. I believe success comes from a positive support system and a internal drive to do the best you can at all times. I have always told my children when they were in school and college that if they really tried their best and can honestly say they gave 100%, that is all I could ask of them as a parent. Fortunately, my children do try their best. They learn from their failures and that helps them be successful the next time around. My heart breaks for the students who do not have a positive support system at home.
ReplyDeleteDana good point including "Happiness in your comment on "concept for success" So many times our focus is on money and possessions and in class it can be a focus on getting the grade. We need to take a step back and realign our goals to include happiness and a positive self-image too.
DeleteAs Dana suggested - we all measure success differently. The company you are keeping for the moment or your lifelong friends/ family or strangers on the street may all sum you up differently - depending on their vantage point. If I am in a room full of Physical Therapists that have all published research; am I less successful than them because my most recent research was not accepted for publication? If I am in a room filled with retail clerks and am introduced as Dr. Ferrari - am I more successful than them? I don't think so in either case.
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to getting where you are in life - I think it takes a combinations of drive, initiative, ambition. This is all mixed with opportunity and the ability to access that opportunity.
My High school guidance counselor told me I did not have the grades to become a Physical Therapist...he actually said "I would not bother applying if I were you" My high 80's low 90's were a dime a dozen when it came to going to college and apparently he was not impressed. Let's just say grades = talent for the sake of the discussion. So he was telling me I did not have the talent required. But I knew I had the drive. I contacted the colleges, I found out what else they looked for in a student. I volunteered at hospitals and therapy clinics and was accepted to PT School. I would say that is pretty successful - if that is the tool we are using to measure???
I do not believe that abilities are fixed (i.e. that you are born with a certain level of intelligence and no amount of effort can change this). I believe that it is a harmful myth that intelligence and creativity are mostly genetic. It constitutes a belief in eugenics, basically a racehorse theory of human development. The belief that there are superior people and that if you put together the genes of a superior woman and a superior man, you get a superior offspring. It is only a few degrees removed from racism. When kids (and us, as parents and educators) subscribe to it it holds them back. It prevents students from understanding that with a little hard work, dedication, and self-confidence they can improve.
ReplyDeleteWhat you do affects what you know, and hard work and effort affects what you do. Individuals who don’t reach their potential are often distracted by instant gratification.
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ReplyDeleteI do not believe abilities are fixed, but I do believe talent plays a part in people who have become famous in their fields. For example, Tiger Woods (not my favorite person, but a good example) had talent and drive to become number one for many years. He could have rebelled against his father's pressure, but he embraced it and became an iconic athlete. He also had a good physique for his sport and was willing to put in countless hours to learn from his golf mistakes and keep getting better.
ReplyDeleteAn example of someone who did not have talent, but had a drive to achieve is a little boy I taught in Middle School. He had an IEP and struggled a bit with reading, but math was really hard for him. He is in his 30's now, married and has a child. He went to college and has a wonderful job where he is a logistics manager for a big company. He has to get the trucks packed in the most cost-effective way to ship his company's product. When his Mom told me this was his job, she smiled and said he uses all of the resources and strategies he learned at LP to help him do his job so well. He researches other companies and uses online tools to help him with the math. She can't thank us teachers enough for all we did to help her son learn to work hard using whatever resources are available to achieve what needs to be done.
Lori,
DeleteWhat a wonderful story!!
Unfortunately, when I was in high school, I didn't not put forth my best effort at all. I did the minimum to get by...not because I was afraid to fail, I just didn't seem to have the drive to go one step further. However, as an adult, I find I would like to get better in several things and learn to do them correctly. I think it is interesting how my mindset has changed for the better as I have gotten older.
DeleteI believe that accomplishment isn't necessarily derived from ability. It is derived from drive and a growth mindset. I also agree with some of the points that Amy and Dana made...how people choose to measure success. Also as Heidi mentioned, we must help students look at failure as part of a learning process, and take it as an opportunity to learn, not something to be feared.
ReplyDeleteI believe that success is measured differently for each of us. Drive, ambition, determination and effort all play a part in how successful we are in anything that we do whether it is our profession, relationships or in our own personal happiness. The growth mindset allows us to be open to challenges that come our way. I think that those with innate talent or ability do not always realize their true potentials because things have come so easily that they do not always push themselves to do better.
ReplyDeleteSuccess is absolutely measured in different ways as many of you mentioned. Brilliance is also measured in many ways as well. You certainly do not need one for the other. What I do think one needs is the ambition and drive to succeed in most things in life. As Mike mentioned, our job as teachers is guide our students on a path that helps them to understand that they may not be the most brilliant in the class (and they all know who is) and they may not succeed at everything but if they remedy their mistakes,learn from them, drive to make it better or show ambition at tasks they can be successful. I am sure we all try to install this in our own kids as well!
ReplyDeleteI think that some people are born with certain abilities and talents, but they fail to put the effort into using them. They don't have the passion or desire to utilize the tools they have been given. You can have this toolbox full of tools, but if you don't ever open it up and actually use them, or they just sit there and collect dust, it is worthless. Some only do what is necessary and give no more. We also live in a society now where everyone is rewarded for everything they do. You make a team because you show up. You win a trophy because you made a few practices. You are given an A because you completed the assignment. We almost teach children to do just whatever they need to in order to get by. I am not a parent, but I have had parents of students call in the past wanting to fix every situation for their child. Nobody wants to see the child fall and learn how to get back up. The people who keep trying and working extra hard for what they have are the ones who succeed. You need to earn things. You need determination and passion to go after what you want. That is what creates success. Someone may not be born with a talent or ability, but the work ethic and goal driven mindset creates growth, opportunities, and success.
ReplyDeleteSo true. It sad that parents want to protect their kids from disappointment to the degree that they can't deal with things on their own like getting a poor grade or resolving conflicts with friends etc.
DeleteI think if children experience struggles or failure a little bit at a time, it allows them to handle the larger dissappointments or failures as they get older and are independent of their parents. Helicopter parents can't call a college professor and ask why their child got a bad grade, or be put in a different class away from someone they don't get along with in class.
DeleteI agree that effort is important with success and innate talent does not guarantee success. I also like the point made in the book that growth mindset people enjoy what they are doing and it is not all about getting to the top. If the fail along the way it's okay. Fixed mindset feel it's all been a waste and avoid the possibility of failure. Growth mindset people enjoy the process of learning growing and taking on new challenges. That makes them successful over time.
ReplyDeleteI believe success can come from both innate talent and ability. However, it is more about how much effort you put into what you are trying to achieve. I can think of students who are extremely smart but their lack of motivation and effort makes them unsuccessful. Someone can be really good at a sport or academics, but put forth not effort and not succeed at it. In contrast, people who aren’t brilliant but highly successful have all the traits of someone with a growth mindset. They are hardworking, put forth a lot of effort, learn from mistakes, and believe they can do it.
ReplyDeleteI can think of several students over the years who lack the motivation to be successful. It is very frustrating to see them not achieve their goals. The question is how do wee instill a growth mindset int hose kids. Also, why do they lack motivation? What factors play into it that we don't know about?
DeleteI believe talents can be developed. They may be there innately, OR they may not. Someone may just have the drive to develop them. I believe many of these talents which may be looked upon as innate, may actually step from interest and the work put in to learn something. When can you actually see something that is "innate?" - when a child is born? They certainly can't exhibit artistic qualities as an infant. When they possess the physical skills to perform the task? That is different for individuals, as well. So I feel interest has a lot to do with it. Someone who is not afraid to try, and keeping in mind most of this happens when we are children, is someone who can develop a talent.
ReplyDeleteIf we don't try something as a child, we become more and more LESS likely that we will try it again.
I learned how to waterski (and actually get up on the skis) on my 47th birthday. It was fun, but not something I practice, and therefore not really a skill I have. Had I waterskiied as a kid? Things would be different. I learned how to downhill ski in high school. I did for a number of years, then stopped when I was a mom with young children. (Who had time to get out and ski?) After a lapse of 15+ years however, I became interested again, and was just as bad a skiier in my 40s as a kid. However, I did not feel like I was trying to learn something new.
Childhood is SO critical to learning!! We must harness and find a way to keep children open minded about learning. Once the doors begin to shut, opportunities are lost by the year.
PS
ReplyDeleteCH 3 pet peeve
especially where we are
All about Einstein. I'm tired of hearing so much about Einstein. Did they mention how much he took advantage of the poor immigrant, Tesla?
sigh. (steps off soapbox)
Do you assume success comes from an innate talent or ability? Why are there brilliant individuals who don't reach their potential or realize their ability, yet there are individuals who appear not so brilliant who are highly successful? How did they do it??
ReplyDeleteI believe success comes from a variety of factors. I do agree that there must be some level of innate talent or ability, but this can only become something WITH effort. There are also additional factors for success that can't be overlooked, they include, timing and connections (ability to network and put your abilities out there for the world.) Your talents are worth nothing if they aren't of value to others when you development them.
I believe there are some naturally talented people in the world that are successful in one area; however, they may struggle with success in a relationship or a social situation. They may be more fixed minded and are able to shine in a specific area, but it probably comes at a price...health, family relationships, friendships, etc. They may find themselves in constant competition with themselves or others to stay on top. Some may be able to do it, and then there are others who may find it exhausting and not work to their potential. I also know average people in business that have become very successful by plugging along day to day putting a business idea into motion. After 30 years, they look back and notice they have created a million dollar business. I think the difference in how people reach their full potential is how they handle the pitfalls...do they become paralyzed or do they keep getting up each morning, putting one foot in front of the other. Whether a person has a natural ability or has to work hard, trudging onward is the only way to succeed through failure....and there will be failure.
ReplyDeleteI think that having an innate talent/ability can greatly help but many people that I know personally lack, ambition, effort, and drive. I think that if you want to be successful in life that you will be if you want to. I always struggled in school and it still amazes me that people who were gifted and talented never used their abilities after high school to get into a top college or carreer. Now my husband on the other hand is not school person at all, however he is very successful in many ways today. He is brilliant however he never finished college yet he is such a go getter that he has opened several stores on his own and now has a successful career that requires a college degree that he does not have. He truly inspires me with his drive and worth ethic.
ReplyDeleteI have always had great admiration for my OT students who raise above their difficulties and out perform what we would expect based on their standardized test scores. I learned a long time ago to look at the scores and then just keep providing opportunities for growth. I do believe that parents who support effort in their children help foster abilities which may initially be hidden.
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