Fab Fridays 54: Raising Entrepreneurial Kids

Nurturing Risk Takers, Problem Solvers, and Change Makers.

Ana Lorena Fabrega

Jun 29, 2021

Hey Friends!

Happy Friday and greetings from New York.

Today I’ll be sharing 3 bite-size thoughts, 2 recommended reads, and 1 podcast.

3 BITE-SIZE THOUGHTS

1. INCENTIVES

Our education system is built around extrinsic motivators.

Educators and parents default to external rewards and consequences because it’s easy and works short term. Here's the problem with this approach:

First, external rewards don’t work forever. There is a limit to how many rewards we can promise and give, and after some time, it becomes repetitive and boring. After the short-term benefit of a reward ends, the child’s motivation typically fades.

Second, and more concerning: What are we teaching kids when we promise a reward to get them to do something? Kids who are extrinsically motivated have a skewed notion of how to learn. They do things for the reward or to avoid punishment, rather than for the sake of learning.

The good news is that by using the right incentives, we can help kids develop the inner motivation that will push them to keep learning on their own. In this article I share what worked for me as a teacher, and what you can try at home with your kids. Hint: I said no to rewards :)

2. FAILURE

One thing successful people have in common is their ability to try to do something hard, fail, learn from their failure, and then go on to try again.

These people didn’t learn this in school. Failure in school is penalized with a bad grade that goes on your permanent record. This makes kids avoid failure at all costs. And yet getting comfortable with failure is what leads to achieving big things in life.

Fab Tip: Encourage kids to undertake activities where small failures are a likely outcome, just so they get used to failing. Have them try out for the soccer team even if they’re not that good, or play chess against older and more experienced kids.

When kids experience failure in safe environments, they become more resilient. They also begin to realize that there’s something much worse than failing: Not trying because of fear of failure.

3. PRAISE

When offering words of encouragement, be specific so kids know exactly what they are doing well. Don’t just say “good work!” Good work on what?

A good rule of thumb:

recognize effort, not ability
recognize ethics over achievement
recognize the process, not the outcome
recognize curiosity, perseverance, and a growth mindset over completion of tasks

2 RECOMMENDED READS

1. RAISING ENTREPRENEURIAL KIDS

I loved reading this Profile Read Dossier on Esther Wojcicki, aka “Silicon Valley's Godmother.”

This is a must read for parents interested in raising entrepreneurial kids.

Here are my 3 takeaways from Wojcicki.

Along this note, I also recommend the book Raising an Entrepreneur: 10 Rules for Nurturing Risk Takers, Problem Solvers, and Change Makers by Margot Machol

2. THINKING IN BETS

Almost every decision we make in our lives involves luck, uncertainty, risk, and occasional deception —leading elements in poker.

And learning how to think in bets is one of the best ways to improve our decision-making.

Ever since I read Thinking in Bets by Annie Duke I’ve been obsessed with the idea of helping kids apply bet-thinking to their decision-making process. This is one of our core principles at Synthesis.

If you are interested in learning more about this, I highly recommend her book! It’s filled with practical tips to overcome your shortcomings in decision making and ultimately make wiser decisions.

1 PODCAST

HOW CHILDHOOD EDUCATION WILL CHANGE

I recorded a conversation with David Perell and Chrisman Frank—two of my favorite folks on the internet! We talk about Synthesis, how childhood education is changing, and apparently my love for talking.

Listen here: Spotify | iTunes

Until next week!