Growth mindset, hidden laws & how to sell a car

Growth mindset

You got a 10 in the exam? You are so smart, well done! - sounds like a positive compliment for children, right? It's not the case. This praise links the person to the result. Kids are smart enough to understand the obvious: If I don't get a 10, I am not smart. Your intelligence - or any other trait, you - is suddenly fixed. Either you are or you aren't. This is a fixed mindset, the believe that personal traits and skills cannot be improved. A classic example are children being told they are special, smarter than the rest. When life gets difficult and they fail, the message is clear. Success defined them, now failure does. A growth mindset assumes the opposite, anything can be developed. Instead of focusing on results, praise the process.  It also works on adults. Is there something you think you aren't good at and never will be? Time to practice. If you want to know more: Book.

Hidden laws

Incentives are the hidden laws that govern humans.  Case in point: in a daycare, parents were routinely late for pick ups. Desperate teachers started sending notes at home, asking parents to please be on time. No change. They created a financial incentive, those who were late would have to pay a fee. Problem solved? Late pick ups skyrocketed. The payment made guilt disappear - if I am paying for it, I am entitled to it. In Freakonomics, Steven D. Levitt explains the world through the lenses of hidden incentives. Why men lie in dating apps? Why a prostitute earns more than an architect? Why drug gangs and corporates have similar hierarchies?  Find out in Freakonomics.

How to sell a car

A man wants to sell a car. He invites 3 potential buyers, each 10 minutes after the other. The key: it takes around 30 minutes to check a car. The first buyer arrives, checks the car and is not convinced. While the first is asking questions, the second one appears, and doubts start creeping up: how many buyers are there? What if the second says yes before I do? The seller - who knows his psychology abc's - tells the second buyer to wait until the first one says no. When the first one hears this, pressure increases. When the third buyer arrives, panic ensues in the first buyers mind. This is the psychological principle of scarcity by social demand, and is used by companies like Clubhouse - a social network that limited access - to manipulate consumers. Learn more psychology principles in this book.