Which skills and attributes lead to success?
Part one of our three part introduction series is designed to introduce students to some of the skills and attributes that lead to success. This first part is made up of 18 distinct episodes, covering a wide range of habits and skills that positively influence individual performance for improved results and greater success. A brief description of each episode is outlined below. In addition you'll find links to the parent episode page and supporting exercises for each episode.
Introduction Part 1 – Episode outline
Episode 1: Hello. Who are you?
Know thyself | Quiet | Mindfulness | Happiness
A brief overview of the Passion Arena programme before starting on helping you to get to know yourself. Introduces concepts of happiness and being aware of your emotions.
Episode 2: Why is it good to be happy?
Know thyself | Quiet | Happiness | Self-awareness
Introduces the concept that success often comes as a result of happiness as opposed to happiness being an outcome of achieving success.
Episode 3: What is success for you?
Know thyself | Be curious | Self-awareness | Responsibility
Reviews the typical definitions for success, and we suggest a new definition for success that's more applicable to a wider range of goals.
Episode 4: What's the difference between winning and succeeding?
Know thyself | Be curious | Responsibility | Action
Explores the issue of defining success or failure purely in terms winning. We review John Wooden's approach to success by "making the effort to do the best of which you are capable".
Episode 5: What's a growth mindset and why do you want one?
Growth mindset | Know thyself | Self-confidence | Belief
Introduces the concept of 'mindset' as outlined by Dr. Carol Dweck and explains the benefits of developing a "growth mindset".
Episode 6: How can you create a growth mindset?
Growth mindset | Know thyself | Self-confidence | Belief
We outline three strategies to support the development of a growth mindset; growing your brain; learn one, do one, teach one; and adding 'yet'.
Episode 7: Do you know what you want to achieve?
Know thyself | Scheduling | Goals | Plans
Identifies the values of setting goals, and defines the difference between big picture goals and progress goals in helping you achieve.
Episode 8: Why does passion matter?
Know thyself | Be curious | Passion | Self-awareness
Introduces the importance of discovering your passions, by giving a definition to what we mean by passion, then looking at how finding your passions can benefit you.
Episode 9: How good are you at taking action?
Action oriented | Little and regular | Action | Responsibility
Outlines the importance of taking action when it comes to achieving your goals, or any form of success, and introduces the Passion Arena habits of action oriented and little and regular.
Episode 10: What's stopping you from taking action?
Action oriented | Little and regular | Action | Facing fear
Introduces three possible barriers that might be preventing you from taking action on the things you want to achieve (your goals).
Episode 11: When did you last tidy your brain?
Little and regular | Action oriented | Repetition | Practice
Explains the concept of top-down and bottom-up mind function and explains in simple terms how your mind stores information as you learn.
Episode 12: When are you in your element?
Know thyself | Be curious | Passion | Self-awareness
We introduce Sir Ken Robinson's concept of 'The Element', the place where – as he describes it – natural talent meets personal passion.
Episode 13: Do you know the incredible story of Laszlo Polgar?
Little and regular | Growth mindset | Practice | Repetition
Explains Laszlo Polgar's theory that 'genius' is not a trait you're born with or have a natural talent for, but is educated and trained over time and we discover the incredible experiment he conducted to prove his theory.
Episode 14: What exactly is perfect practice?
Little and regular | Growth mindset | Practice | Mindfulness
Outlines the concept of perfect or deliberate practice and introduces K. Anders Ericsson's theory of the 10,000-hour rule in relation to perfect practice.
Episode 15: Who's helping you to succeed?
Stretch | Ongoing learning | Relationships | Communication
Identifies the importance of looking for support or help from others (like coaches, teachers or mentors) when it comes to achieving your biggest goals.
Episode 16: How gritty are you?
Growth mindset | Self-control | Persistence | Goals
Introduces the concept of grit, as researched and defined by Angela Duckworth. We outline what grit is, and how it can help you to enjoy greater success.
Episode 17: Is it ever good to fail?
Growth mindset | Positive attitude | Accepting failure | Attitude
We question how many of us have been taught to think about failure, and explain that every successful person has had to fail before reaching success.
Episode 18: How can marshmallows help you succeed?
Self-control | Positive attitude | Willpower | Persistence
We explain the importance of self-control in achieving success and outline the learning gained from Walter Mischel's now famous 'marshmallow test'.