How Not to Talk to Your Kids

The inverse power of praise.
—
By Po Bronson

What do we make of a boy like Thomas? Thomas (his middle name) is a fifth-grader at the highly competitive P.S. 334, the Anderson School on West 84th. Slim as they get, Thomas recently had his long sandy-blond hair cut short to look like the new James Bond (he took a photo of Daniel Craig to the barber). Unlike Bond, he prefers a uniform of cargo pants and a T-shirt emblazoned with a photo of one of his heroes: Frank Zappa. Thomas hangs out with five friends from the Anderson School. They are “the smart kids.” Thomas’s one of them, and he likes belonging.

Since Thomas could walk, he has heard constantly that he’s smart. Not just from his parents but from any adult who has come in contact with this precocious child. When he applied to Anderson for kindergarten, his intelligence was statistically confirmed. The school is reserved for the top one percent of all applicants, and an IQ test is required. Thomas didn’t just score in the top one percent. He scored in the top one percent of the top one percent.

But as Thomas has progressed through school, this self-awareness that he’s smart hasn’t always translated into fearless confidence when attacking his schoolwork. In fact, Thomas’s father noticed just the opposite. “Thomas didn’t want to try things he wouldn’t be successful at,” his father says. “Some things came very quickly to him, but when they didn’t, he gave up almost immediately, concluding, ‘I’m not good at this.’ ” With no more than a glance, Thomas was dividing the world into two—things he was naturally good at and things he wasn’t.

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Seeds of Family Leadership: Empowering Others

by Denis Waitley

The world needs role models, instead of critics. Others know when you have their best interests at heart.

You are truly successful when you can extend a strong hand to someone who is reaching out or just trying to hang on.

Come through for others, and they will come through for you.

People who seek attention, need all the help they can get.

You know you’re a success when people tell you, “I like me best when I’m with you.”

If we succeed without sacrifice, it’s because someone sacrificed for us.

Real power comes by empowering others!

Promises should not be given lightly unless you want them lightly received.

If I help you win, then I win too!

Being “Too Busy” Can Cheat You Out of a Fabulous Life

By Joe Farcht

There are probably many things you’d like to do but simply don’t have the time for. You’re just too busy to do them! Here are some changes you can make so that you accomplish the things that are truly important to you.

If you experience this feeling, then it’s time to sit down and make a list of everything you currently do and everything you’d like to do but aren’t. Why? I’ll answer that question in a few minutes.

How to Discover Anyone’s Priorities

If you want to know what a person’s priorities are, observe what they do, not what they say. Because, whether consciously or unconsciously, what they choose to do is what they consider important at that moment.

Many of us jump from one task to another, simply doing what we feel like. Often, there is no correlation between what is important to us and what we actually do. Examine your own life. Is this true for you?

What Is Truly Important In Your Life?

What changes can you make so that you accomplish the things you wish you could get done? First, it’s essential to determine what is important. In other words, what are the priorities in your work and life?

At work, it’s imperative to know the priority of assigned tasks and activities, as well as those projects you seek out. If those priorities are clear, then you know what you should be working on and in what order. Not knowing your priorities will result in bouncing around from task to task, an inefficient and ineffective way to work.
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Mr. Rogers Was My Hero.

Mr. Rogers goes to Washington to help get funding for Childrens Television. Does he get his funding of 20$ million? Check it.

Man, he sure was a caring person. The world is a better place for having had Mr. Rogers in it.

This is 6:50 minutes of someone cultivating greatness.

With humbled gratitude,

Travis Wright

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