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Make the leap from average to exceptional and start living the remarkable life you were meant to lead
Ever wonder what sets people like Steve Wozniak, Stacey Abrams, Mark Rober, and Jane Goodall apart? Why do some people seem to eat, sleep, and breathe “awesome?”
In Think Remarkable, tech titan Guy Kawasaki teams up with Madisun Nuismer, producer of the Remarkable People podcast, to share invaluable knowledge from more than 40 years of working with game-changing organizations such as Apple, Canva, Google, Mercedes Benz, and Wikipedia, and delivers insights from a collection of amazing interviews that'll kick you into high gear and get you ready to start showing the world your best, most amazing self. Together the authors show you how to lead a fulfilling life by drawing on insights from working closely with some of the world's most remarkable people. You'll learn:
Make the leap from average to exceptional. Think Remarkable is more than a book—it's a way of life. It is the gotta-read-right-now book you can't afford to miss. So, grab a copy today and start making yourself—and the world—a whole lot more remarkable.
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Seitenzahl: 261
Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2024
Cover
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Foreword
Introduction
Think Different
The Big Picture
Sources
Structure
Let's Do This!
STAGE 1: Growth—Build a Foundation
1 Adopt the Growth Mindset
Embrace the Growth Mindset
Find Support
Embrace Change
Go Farther
Change Horses
Take Baby Steps
Embrace Envy
Find a Hero
Bloom, Baby, Bloom
Additional Resources
2 Embrace Vulnerability
Flip Over Growth
“Go on, Be Brave”
Brace for Impact
Give Yourself a Break
Learn from Failure
Use the Doubters
Face It Until You Make It
Additional Resources
3 Plant Many Seeds
Get Stoked About Oaks
Trust the Dots
Get an Education
Pursue “Interests,” Not “Passions”
Build Random Connections
Don't Be Picky
Fight Framing
Start in Sales
Make Yourself Indispensable
Weed the Seeds
Ask, “What's Missing?”
Additional Resources
STAGE 2: Grit—Activate Your Aspirations
4 Do Good Shit
Embrace the Grit Mindset
Create What You Want to Use
Alleviate Pain
Work Backwards
Resolve Your Indignation
Jump to the Next Curve
Ride the Tide
Go See, Go Be, and Go Do
Do the Right Thing
Transform Yourself
Ask Simple Questions
Establish a Subcategory
Get Unique and Valuable
Additional Resources
5 Get Beyond Eureka
Formalize Your Goals
Prove Your Concept
Get Mentors
Find Complements
Identify Your Inner “Nigel”
Develop a Routine
Break Bad Habits
Forget Balance, Think
Ikigai
Savor Your Shit Sandwich
Don't Argue, Just Adopt
Make Decisions Right
Additional Resources
6 Sell Your Dream
Get Your Foot in the Door
Get Your Early Adopters
Grok the Gospel of Bob
Find Something in Common
Tell Good Stories
Open Your Architecture
Don't Hear “No”
“Let a Hundred Flowers Blossom”
Optimize the Day
Show up in Person
Become a Mission‐Driven Asshole
Focus on What's Important
Additional Resources
STAGE 3: Grace—Uplift and Inspire
7 Lead by Example
Embrace Grace
Get Over Imposter Syndrome
Craft a “Good Situation”
Hire Better Than Yourself
Negotiate Like a Champ
Put Skills First
Send the Right Signals
Draw Boundaries
Manage by Zooming Around (MBZA)
Shut the F* Up
Reduce Risk
Say “I Don't Know”
Additional Resources
8 Take the High Road
Value All People
Count Your Blessings
Fulfill Your Success
Oblige
Help Others Succeed
Make Wise Interventions
Over‐Deliver
Change How You Keep Score
Punch Up, Not Down
Ask “How?”
Learn How to Apologize
Ignore the Small Stuff
Listen to My Parents
Additional Resources
9 Turn and Burn
Leave No Regrets Behind
Heed Stacey's Creed
Turn and Burn
Additional Resource
Afterword
List of Profiles
List of Podcast Guests
Mahalo
People
Places
About the Authors
Index
End User License Agreement
Introduction
Figure I.1 Poster from Apple's Think Different campaign which featured photo...
Chapter 1
Figure 1.1 Mark Rober with a NERF gun ten times the size of a normal one, 20...
Figure 1.2 Jane Goodall with Figan, the alpha male, at Gombe National Park i...
Figure 1.3 Julia Child in her Cambridge, Massachusetts, kitchen, 1974.
Figure 1.4 You've got to love Woz. Here he is playing Segway polo in Cologne...
Figure 1.5 Raquel Willis at New York Fashion Week, 2019.
Chapter 2
Figure 2.1 Kristi Yamaguchi waves to the crowd after winning the gold medal ...
Figure 2.2 Andrea Lytle Peet finishing her fiftieth marathon after she was d...
Figure 2.3 Apple's Lisa computer was released in 1983. It was a commercial f...
Figure 2.4 Garrett McNamara at Nazaré, Portugal, surfing the mythical 100‐fo...
Chapter 3
Figure 3.1 One of my six‐month‐old oak seedlings, September 2023. I will nev...
Figure 3.2 Steve Jobs giving commencement address at Stanford University on ...
Figure 3.3 On stage at TEDx Palo Alto with Jane Goodall—one of the high poin...
Figure 3.4 Brandi Chastain celebrates after kicking the game‐winning goal in...
Figure 3.5 Derek Sivers in a prior role to his tech and entrepreneurship car...
Figure 3.6 Kerri Walsh Jennings (right) and Misty May‐Treanor at the medal c...
Figure 3.7 Andrew Zimmern using some “lucky chopsticks” at the South Beach W...
Figure 3.8 A scene from the “invisible gorilla” experiment. Fifty percent of...
Chapter 4
Figure 4.1 Gretchen Carlson shaking hands with President Joe Biden while Vic...
Figure 4.2 Nancy Thompson with her MAGA sign at the start of the Mothers Aga...
Figure 4.3 Steve Sasson and the first digital camera ever made. He worked fo...
Figure 4.4 Martin Lindstrom discussing the lessons of breathing through stra...
Figure 4.5 Bill Clinton and Elizabeth Holmes on stage at the 2015 plenary s...
Figure 4.6 Martha Niño and her mother, Tomasa Coloa, at the Niles Flea Marke...
Figure 4.7 Reebok got “unique and valuable” in 1982 with the introduction of...
Chapter 5
Figure 5.1 Chris Bertish arriving in Antigua in March 2017. His 4,600‐mile j...
Figure 5.2 Jamia Wilson with her mentor, Gloria Steinem, at a Harvard Book S...
Figure 5.3 Leana Wen with her mentor, Congressman Elijah Cummings, in Baltim...
Figure 5.4 Ronnie Lott and his mentor, Jim Brown, celebrating Jim's eightiet...
Figure 5.5 Roy Yamaguchi with his mentor Joseph Amendola
Figure 5.6 Dave Ebert with the skeleton of a fourteen‐foot great white shark...
Figure 5.7 My daily breakfast: peanut butter and bananas on toast with coffe...
Figure 5.8 Kelly Gibson working with students at Rogue River Junior/Senior H...
Chapter 6
Figure 6.1 Temple Grandin's design for a tipping vat system. This is an exam...
Figure 6.2 Examples of Madisun and my daughter virtually trying on Warby Par...
Figure 6.3 The “dancing guy” progresses from one nutcase to a crowd....
Figure 6.4 Six of the typical rejections that Melanie Perkins received after...
Figure 6.5 Macintosh 128K, introduced on January 24, 1984, in Cupertino, Cal...
Figure 6.6 Olivia Julianna accepting the Marie C. Wilson Emerging Leader Awa...
Figure 6.7 Jon M. Chu and Lin‐Manuel Miranda about to enjoy some ice cream o...
Figure 6.8 Michelle Obama at the 2016 Democratic National Convention.
Chapter 7
Figure 7.1 Macintosh Division in 1984. I'm in the upper left corner to the l...
Figure 7.2 Reunion of the Macintosh Division in 2019 at the home of Alain Ro...
Figure 7.3 A scene from the “Exit Event” episode of Silicon Valley. 2019....
Figure 7.4 Stanley McChrystal inspects the troops during his retirement cere...
Chapter 8
Figure 8.1 Guy, Carol Dweck, and Nate Kawasaki at the memorial services of C...
Figure 8.2 Jacob Martinez at Digital NEST in Watsonville, California, 2023. ...
Figure 8.3 Ranch Milk service station and restaurant in Watsonville, Califor...
Figure 8.4 New York Times reporter Serge Kovaleski. He suffers from a diseas...
Figure 8.5 Donald Trump mimicking Kovaleski in 2015.
Figure 8.6 Grace Sherman spreading her wings and graduating from New College...
Figure 8.7 The bougainvillea hedge where my yard care career began and ended...
Chapter 9
Figure 9.1 Stacey Abrams and I throwing shakas at my house after our June 20...
Cover Page
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Foreword
Table of Contents
Begin Reading
Afterword
List of Profiles
List of Podcast Guests
Mahalo
About the Authors
Index
Wiley End User License Agreement
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GUY KAWASAKI
with MADISUN NUISMER
Foreword by
JANE GOODALL
Copyright © 2024 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.
Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.
Published simultaneously in Canada.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per‐copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750‐8400, fax (978) 750‐4470, or on the web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748‐6011, fax (201) 748‐6008, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permission.
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Library of Congress Cataloging‐in‐Publication Data:
Names: Kawasaki, Guy, 1954‐ author. | Nuismer, Madisun, author.
Title: Think remarkable : 9 paths to transform your life and make a difference / Guy Kawasaki and Madisun Nuismer.
Description: First edition. | Hoboken, New Jersey : Wiley, [2024] | Includes index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2023053754 (print) | LCCN 2023053755 (ebook) | ISBN 9781394245222 (cloth) | ISBN 9781394245246 (adobe pdf) | ISBN 9781394245239 (epub)
Subjects: LCSH: Self‐perception. | Belief and doubt. | Motivation (Psychology) | Success—Psychological aspects. | Self‐actualization (Psychology) | Courtesy.
Classification: LCC BF697.5.S43 K39 2024 (print) | LCC BF697.5.S43 (ebook) | DDC 158.1—dc23/eng/20231218
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2023053754
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2023053755
Cover Design: Chris Wallace
Author Photos by Liz DePuydt
To Gen Z. Your time has come.
When Guy asked me to write this foreword, my list of “to write” items was at twenty‐one. I had just returned from Tanzania and Uganda. Before that, I was in Japan and South Korea. The next week I would be in Canada, the United States, and Brazil. And then I was due to be off to Spain and Switzerland, and finally back to LA.
So I really didn't have time. But Guy is a friend, and because this book provides guidance that will help people find a way of living their lives in a world of increasing uncertainty and complexity, I said yes.
In fact, in the time since I agreed to his request, the state of things has grown even worse and more people are becoming depressed because of changing weather patterns, loss of species, and the horror of war.
In Think Remarkable, Guy discusses three qualities—growth, grit, and grace—that can help us adapt and survive in these tumultuous times. And he explores ways we can move toward a world changed for the better.
Clearly Growth, in the sense of adapting to rapid change and coping with new, difficult, and often unforeseen challenges, is important. On a planet with finite natural resources (already running out in some places) and growing populations of humans and livestock, we must change the way we conduct business, the way we grow our food, and so on.
Think Remarkable argues that we must develop a new mindset: to survive in this rapidly changing world, we must push ourselves to grow mentally, to find new ways of living our day‐to‐day lives, and to develop technology that will help us live in greater harmony with nature. We must grow emotionally and ethically so that we can cope with problems such as poverty, racism, and discrimination.
And for us to develop this new mindset we must have Grit: we must be able to endure. As climate and weather patterns change, animals and plants that cannot adapt or move to more suitable environments will gradually become extinct. With our highly developed intellect, we can find ways of adapting, but only if we have grit, the courage to tackle what at first seems overwhelming.
We must have the courage of our convictions to stand up to corporations and governments that put short‐term profit above protecting the environment for future generations. One of my own reasons for hope is the resilience of nature. And this book clearly explains the principles that can help us to cultivate resilience, empowering us to stand steadfast, stay true to our values even when we are up against overwhelming odds.
We must take lessons from the resilience of Mother Nature. As I travel around the world, I have seen so many places that were once almost entirely destroyed as a result of human activity, but where—when given time and perhaps some help—nature has returned and plants and animals have been given another chance.
We too must learn to “withstand the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.” And we must take courage from the amazing men and women who have accomplished what seems impossible and never given up despite being reviled or even imprisoned for their beliefs or their actions.
Finally, we come to the third quality that will help us survive: Grace. Think Remarkable lays out a framework for cultivating grace. In the world today there is so much divisiveness, discrimination, and conflict. Thus, the importance of graciousness—of understanding, empathy, and communal solidarity—cannot be overstated.
Nature's ecosystems thrive on symbiotic relationships and so must we. Human societies and businesses must cultivate collaborative relationships and work together to solve the multitudes of problems that seem to always be getting worse. So, argues Guy, we must foster relationships that are not only transactional but transformational.
Think Remarkable is not just a typical self‐help narrative: it challenges us not only to improve our own individual lives but also to create a positive impact on the world around us. It makes a compelling case that each of us, equipped with growth, grit, and grace, can become catalysts for change.
The ideas presented within these pages are not merely aspirational; they suggest actionable steps that we can take to move us toward a more equitable and harmonious world.
As we confront the myriad challenges of our era—from social inequality to climate change, from loss of biodiversity to conflict and war—the suggestions laid out in Think Remarkable remind us of our shared responsibility to think, act, and live with purpose.
In these troubling, uncertain—and for some of us, desperate—times, it is imperative that we strive to work together. In other words, we must all live remarkably to make this a better, fairer, and happier world. And this book is a call for immediate action: the future of life on earth, including our own, depends on how we act now.
Jane Goodall, PhD, DBE
Founder of the Jane Goodall Institute and UN Messenger of Peace
What a wonderful thought it is that some of the best days of our lives haven’t happened yet.
—Anne Frank
In 1997 I was Apple's chief evangelist, and I was in the room when Lee Clow of Apple's advertising agency, Chiat\Day, presented the Think Different campaign to Steve Jobs.
There were perhaps ten marketing people in the meeting, and Lee's presentation took our breath away because it so perfectly captured the spirit of Macintosh and Apple.
Here’s to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes … the ones who see things differently—they’re not fond of rules … . You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can’t do is ignore them because they change things … they push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do.
—Ad copy of Think Different
Figure I.1Poster from Apple's Think Different campaign which featured photos of Pablo Picasso, Albert Einstein, Martha Graham, Nelson Mandela, Amelia Earhart, and other remarkable people, 1997.
(Source: Nate Kawasaki)
Back then, Apple wasn't doing well. In fact, most of the pundits predicted that Apple would soon go bankrupt. Michael Dell (yes, that “Dell”) even suggested that Apple return its cash to shareholders and close up shop. Sticking with Apple in those days was an act of faith and thinking differently.
To massively state the obvious, Michael Dell and the pundits were wrong. The Think Different campaign and the iMac line of Macintoshes rekindled the flame and saved Apple. The turnaround that Steve engineered was remarkable, and Apple became the most valuable company in history.
It's been a few decades since that meeting. The world has come a long way, but many problems still exist, new challenges have arisen, and much work remains to be done. However, there are also great opportunities. Now it's necessary to go beyond “think different” and go all the way to “think remarkable” to transform your life and the world.
Suppose someone who is twice your age and holds a powerful political office tries to humiliate you. His reason was that you took offense to his insight on who needs abortions. Let’s start with the words Congressman Matt Gaetz spoke in July 2022 at the Turning Point USA Student Action Summit:
Why is it that the women with the least likelihood of getting pregnant are the ones most worried about having abortions? Nobody wants to impregnate you if you look like a thumb.
He offended many people with his statement. Among them was Olivia Julianna. She is a “queer, plus size, Latina activist” in her twenties, and she fired off a tweet in response:
It's come to my attention that Matt Gaetz—alleged pedophile—has said that it's always the “odious … 5'2 350 pound” women that “nobody wants to impregnate” who rally for abortion. I'm actually 5'11. 6'4 in heels. I wear them so the small men like you are reminded of your place.
Gaetz returned fire with of photo of Julianna with a tweet that said, “Dander raised.” Olivia then turned the controversy into a fundraising effort for abortion rights that raised $2.5 million.
She is a beacon to Gen Z and is leading the transition of power to the next generation alongside others such as Malala Yousafzai, David Hogg, Greta Thunberg, and Maxwell Frost.
The goal of this book is to help you make a difference, just like Julianna. First, let's define what being remarkable means. It does not mean amassing wealth, power, or fame. There are people who have done this and are not remarkable. And there are people who haven't and are.
In my book, being remarkable means you are making a difference and making the world a better place. However, you are not competing with Olivia, Jane Goodall, or Steve Jobs—although I won't dissuade you if that's your goal. Just know that it's enough to improve one life (even your own), one organization, one habitat, or one classroom.
Being remarkable also means you are a good person—people use words such as empathetic, honest, and compassionate to describe you. If offered the chance, they would love to join your ohana, the Hawaiian word for the community of people who support and care for you.
I can provide the roadmap, along with some inspirational examples, but only you can do the work. Being remarkable is neither innate nor conferred—if it were, you wouldn't need this book.
I used two sources of information and inspiration to write this book. The first source is several hundred remarkable people. Although they were not necessarily wealthy, powerful, or famous, they all made the world a better place. They personify empathy, resilience, creativity, and grace.
They were guests on my podcast, Remarkable People, and include people such as Olivia, Jane Goodall, Stacey Abrams, Mark Rober, Carol Dweck, Ken Robinson, Steve Wozniak, Margaret Atwood, Julia Cameron, Temple Grandin, and Bob Cialdini, to name a few.
The second source is my firsthand experiences. I've been the chief evangelist of Apple and Canva, worked for Google and Mercedes‐Benz, and started three companies. All told, I've been a son, father, husband, “uncle,” brother, evangelist, entrepreneur, investor, author, speaker, podcaster, mentor, ATM, and Wikipedia trustee.
Twenty‐volume folios will never make a revolution. It’s the little pocket pamphlets that are to be feared.
—Voltaire
Nonfiction books tend to be a vast morass of 300‐page tomes that extol one idea. I should know—I've written several of them. In this book, however, less is more, so it is as succinct as possible. There are three parts:
• Growth
Build Your Foundation
• Grit
Implement Your Aspirations
• Grace
Uplift and Inspire
Growth, grit, and grace are necessary to make a difference. I present them in approximate sequential order, but becoming remarkable isn't necessarily linear. Feel free to jump around the book as your needs dictate.
Each part of this book consists of three chapters. Each chapter, in turn, contains sections that explain methods for achieving the chapter's objective. Each section begins with an assessment of who can use the section's ideas.
I mention dozens of individuals in this book. It's unlikely that you will recognize everyone. To help you identify them, there is a “List of Profiles” at the end of this book.
In summary, utilizing a few real‐world examples, circa 2023, Think Remarkable is:
The Elements of Style,
not
The Chicago Manual of Style
Tinder, not eHarmony
TikTok, not TED
Making a difference and being remarkable are not easy, but you won't regret trying. When you make a difference and are remarkable, you live a life that matters, reflects your best self, and inspires others to be remarkable as well.
One last subtle but critical point. The remarkable people I interviewed did not decide one day to be remarkable and then dedicate their life to this goal. Their motivation was outward focused and tactical: save a species, rise from poverty, invent a cool device, save democracy, and the like.
In pursuing these kinds of goals, they became remarkable, but “becoming remarkable” wasn't their objective. This book isn't about how to “repackage,” “rebrand,” or “reposition” yourself.
My message is simple: If you do remarkable things and make a difference, people will call you remarkable. In fact, you couldn't stop them if you tried. So let's get started.
Guy Kawasaki
Santa Cruz, California 2023
There's one more story inside the story of Lee Clow showing us the Think Different campaign. At the end of the meeting, he said to Steve, “I have two copies of these ads. I'll give one to you and one to Guy.”
Steve, as only Steve would, responded, “Don't give Guy a copy. Just give me a copy.”
For me, this was a man‐or‐mouse moment that you don't want to look back on and think, “Why did I wimp out?”
So I didn't. Right then and there, in front of everyone, I came back with, “Don't you trust me, Steve?”
And he came back with, “I don't.”
And I came back with, “That's okay, Steve, because I don't trust you either.”
That probably cost me a few million dollars in stock options, but it was worth it.
Replace “Why is this happening to me?” with “What is this trying to teach me?”
—Nate Kawasaki
∠ You want to overcome being told you can't accomplish something.
∠ You want to stop telling
yourself
you can't accomplish something.
∠ You're tired of worrying about jeopardizing your reputation and self‐image.
I am not a remarkable hockey player or surfer. I took up these sports at the ages of forty‐four and sixty, respectively. This means that I started thirty‐four and fifty years too late, respectively.
My sons wanted to play hockey after we attended a San Jose Sharks game, so I started playing hockey even though I was old and from Hawaii. The closest thing to pond hockey where I grew up is shave ice. (Several people have pointed out that the correct term is “shaved ice.” I grew up in Hawaii and have eaten more shave ice than all of them put together. The correct term is “shave ice,” brah.)
In 2015, I started surfing because of my daughter. She was fourteen, and I was sixty. Despite growing up in Hawaii, I didn't have enough of a growth mindset to try something outside of studying and organized team sports, so surfing was new to me.
I embraced these new sports because Brenda Ueland and Carol Dweck profoundly impacted my mindset. Ueland was a teacher of writing at the University of Minnesota and authored a book called If You Want to Write.
My wife gave me Ueland's book in 1989 because I thought I wanted to write a book. However, my mindset at the time was that I was not a “writer” because I didn't have a degree in English, nor any formal training for the task. Ueland's book made me realize that maybe I could write a book because it contained these lessons:
Don't worry about special training or anyone's permission and blessing to write. Just write.
Write from the heart about what you know and love—not about what you think people expect from “writers.” Just write.
Shove aside judgments and criticisms of your writing—from both you and from others. Just write.
In short, I wrote my first book, The Macintosh Way, because of Ueland's book. Now fast‐forward to 2006. Carol Dweck, a professor of psychology at Stanford University, releases her book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. Her insights were like Ueland's but on steroids.
Her book convinced me that growth can happen along any path that you let it. At the time, I was fat, dumb, and happy concentrating on what worked for me in the past. I certainly wasn't taking up any new sports.
Dweck didn't just dent my universe; she expanded it. I had written a few books, but I was afraid of failure and embarrassment in other fields. Here is how Carol explains the fixed and growth mindsets:
The fixed mindset is the belief that your qualities are carved in stone. But your qualities can be cultivated through effort, good strategies, and lots of help, support, and mentorship from others.
People with a fixed mindset make statements such as “I'm too old to learn a new skill,” or “I'm good at programming, but I could never learn marketing.” People with a growth mindset, by contrast, are willing, if not eager, to explore and experiment.
Undoubtedly, the growth mindset is necessary to be remarkable, and you hold the power to change and elevate yourself. Full stop. Not negotiable. Let this sink in: if you want to be remarkable, you have to grow.
Learning hockey and surfing were difficult at my advanced age, but embracing these sports provided some of the most satisfying moments of my life. My moderate success in both sports showed me the benefits of a growth mindset and, more importantly, set my expectations to be able to learn new skills in general.