Did you know that the most common reaction people have when being given a self-development book is resistance and hurt feelings?
Telling someone with a fixed mindset that they need to read Carol Dweck's book "mindset" tends not to go over well, so, what's the solution? We've all heard "lead by example", but there must be some way to facilitate or speed up that growth, right?
As someone who cares deeply about self-improvement, I know how frustrating it can be when trying to share it with the ones we love and care about. That’s why I created this blog in the first place: To highlight the different forms of media out there that can "mindsettertain".
They say "you can lead a horse to the water but you can't make it drink" - I say bullshit.
Sure, sometimes you have to make the water a little sweeter to entice those horses, or maybe add a bit of salt to their meals first to make them thirstier, but I believe it's possible.
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When we emotionally crave to see a character learn, we learn too.
The trick then, is to find a book with enough excitement to hook those we love, and enough quality mindset to help them grow.
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If you’d like to stop the cycle of frustration and resistance and help your loved ones get onto the same page, I'd highly recommend exposing them to some form of mindsettertainment. There are many resources located throughout this blog, from Hollywood blockbusters to short youtube clips and children's books.
For teen males, I strongly recommend The Shard Chronicles, as it has explosions, magic, gunfights and sex scenes, along with a seminar's worth of self-development in each book.
For teen males, I strongly recommend The Shard Chronicles, as it has explosions, magic, gunfights and sex scenes, along with a seminar's worth of self-development in each book.
I've attached a section of the book below to highlight how it works.
There's no point in quoting an action scene, or the chapters spent on the hot blonde's cleavage, so I'll skip over those parts for now, and focus on a conversation between "Steve Jang" (the protagonist) and "Tony"
In the below scene, ex-Commander Steve Jang (accused of treason, and hunting down some baddies) is reluctantly going to see a "shrink" so that he can unlock a hidden memory.
He's reasonably sure Tony is full of shit, and has been more than a little hostile towards him for the last several chapters, but Tony has convinced him to listen (at least a little bit)
As the protagonist shares the viewpoint of those horses who're unwilling to drink from those rivers we've brought them to, the readers align themselves with him.
They agree. It is bullshit. They also hate shrinks and gurus etc.
But, Steve begins to be convinced.
And as he learns, so too does the reader.
It turns out that what Steve is learning from Tony is actually a type of magic - a magic that can be practiced and expanded upon.
Now both the reader and Steve are curious about what the tools can do, and how to develop them.
As Steve increases his understanding, he develops more and more powers from these tools, and the reader's knowledge of the magic further expands into more and more self-development practices, designed to teach human needs psychology, growth mindset, communication techniques, meditation and more.
"Do, or do not. There is no try" is a beautiful quote, and is an effective strategy if applied. It's also incredible in that it has permeated a culture.
The issue with quotes like that, is that they don't have any tactics or tools - it is a fun quote, but it doesn't move the viewer to grow and change, nor to adopt a new mindset.
"C3GUS", on the other hand, is an actual set of tools. They're the sorts of things you would find on a seminar stage's whiteboard, or someone's notes that they were taking.
And again, because the protagonist is vehemently against "all this bullshit" the readers go along for the ride.
Once Steve discovers that this "C3GUS" is actually a practicable method that allows him to access a form of magic, he buys into the "bullshit" and the reader does as well.
Basically, it's "the force" from Star Wars, but actually useful.
Spoiler alert - the "Bombs to Babies" conversation in the next chapter is a doozie!
You can download the entire book here
He's reasonably sure Tony is full of shit, and has been more than a little hostile towards him for the last several chapters, but Tony has convinced him to listen (at least a little bit)
As the protagonist shares the viewpoint of those horses who're unwilling to drink from those rivers we've brought them to, the readers align themselves with him.
They agree. It is bullshit. They also hate shrinks and gurus etc.
But, Steve begins to be convinced.
And as he learns, so too does the reader.
It turns out that what Steve is learning from Tony is actually a type of magic - a magic that can be practiced and expanded upon.
Now both the reader and Steve are curious about what the tools can do, and how to develop them.
As Steve increases his understanding, he develops more and more powers from these tools, and the reader's knowledge of the magic further expands into more and more self-development practices, designed to teach human needs psychology, growth mindset, communication techniques, meditation and more.
"Do, or do not. There is no try" is a beautiful quote, and is an effective strategy if applied. It's also incredible in that it has permeated a culture.
The issue with quotes like that, is that they don't have any tactics or tools - it is a fun quote, but it doesn't move the viewer to grow and change, nor to adopt a new mindset.
"C3GUS", on the other hand, is an actual set of tools. They're the sorts of things you would find on a seminar stage's whiteboard, or someone's notes that they were taking.
And again, because the protagonist is vehemently against "all this bullshit" the readers go along for the ride.
Once Steve discovers that this "C3GUS" is actually a practicable method that allows him to access a form of magic, he buys into the "bullshit" and the reader does as well.
Basically, it's "the force" from Star Wars, but actually useful.
Spoiler alert - the "Bombs to Babies" conversation in the next chapter is a doozie!
You can download the entire book here