In a fixed mindset, people believe that their basic qualities, like their intelligence or talent, are simply fixed traits. They spend their time documenting their intelligence or talent instead of developing them. They also believe that talent alone creates success—without effort. 'They are wrong.'

In a growth mindset, people believe that their most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work—intelligence and talent are just the starting point. This view creates an unlimited thirst for learning and a resilience that is essential for outstanding accomplishment. All great people have these qualities.

Mindsets are beliefs—beliefs about yourself and your most basic qualities. Think about your intelligence, your talents and your personality. Are these qualities simply fixed traits, carved in stone and that is that? Or are they factors you can cultivate throughout your life?

People with a fixed mindset believe that their traits are givens. They have a certain level of intelligence and talent and nothing can change that. If they have a high IQ, they are all set, but if they don't... So people in this mindset worry about their traits and how adequate they are. They have something to prove to themselves and others.

People with a growth mindset, on the other hand, see their qualities as factors that can be developed through their dedication and effort. Of course they are happy if they are intelligent and talented, but that is just the starting point. They have an inner understanding that no one has ever accomplished great things—not Mozart, Darwin, or Lewis Hamilton—without years of passionate practice and learning.

Since the dawn of time, people have thought differently, acted differently, and fared differently from each other. It was guaranteed that someone would ask the question of why people differed, why some people are smarter or more moral - and whether there was something that made them permanently different. For years experts have lined up on both sides. Some claimed that there was a strong physical basis for these differences, making them unavoidable and unalterable. Through the ages these alleged physical differences have included bumps on the skull (phrenology), the size and shape of the skull (craniology), and, today, genes.

Scientists are learning that people have more capacity for life-long learning and brain development, than they ever thought possible. Of course, each person has a unique genetic endowment. People may start with different temperaments and different aptitudes, but it is clear that experience, training, and personal effort take them the rest of the way. Robert Sternberg, the present-day guru of intelligence, writes that the major factor in whether people achieve expertise,'is not some fixed prior ability, but is in fact purposeful engagement.' And his forerunner, Binet, recognised, that it is not always the people who start out the smartest who end up the smartest. The question for you to answer is, which mindset do you currently have, Fixed or Growth?

Rule 1 to Making Success Inevitable: with passion, effort and practice people can learn to adopt the beliefs of The Growth Mindset and make dramatic strides in personal performance.

Begin the Change from a Fixed Mindset to A Growth Mindset - extracted from the book Mindset by Carol Dweck