Growth Mindset Quote of the Week

Many of you have asked about my growth mindset quotes of the week. I have a spot on my board where I write the Quote of the Week. I date it and there are written instructions on the board to say that I offer extra credit on INB checks if a student copies the quote of the week onto the inside front cover of their INB, along with the date.

I don't tell them this, but this is part of my cultivation of a growth mindset.

I never announce the quote of the week program, I never mention the phrase "growth mindset" with regard to these quotes, and I never explicitly draw attention to that section of the white board.

It is there to encourage students to pay attention to everything and to constantly ask themselves what is in their own best interests.

Enjoy!
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I have not failed 10,000 times. I have successfully found 10,000 ways that will not work.  — Thomas Edison (American inventor)

There is no shortcut to achievement. Life requires thorough preparation — veneer isn't worth anything. — George Washington Carver

It's not that I'm so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer. — Albert Einstein

Everything is simpler than you think and at the same time more complex than you imagine.  — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

There is no such thing as defeat in non-violence. — Cesar Chavez

I have learned over the years that when one's mind is made up, this diminishes fear; knowing what must be done does away with fear.
 — Rosa Parks

I want to put a dent in the universe. — Steve Jobs

I intend to live forever, or die trying. — Groucho Marx

If you're trying to achieve, there will be roadblocks. I've had them; everybody has had them. But obstacles don't have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it. — Michael Jordan

I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can't accept not trying. — Michael Jordan

Nothing will work unless you do. — Maya Angelou

If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude. — Maya Angelou

Everybody sooner or later has to drop the luggage and the baggage of illusions. — Carlos Santana

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has. — Margaret Mead (American anthropologist & explorer)

Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside a dog, it's too dark to read. — Groucho Marx (American comedian)

Inequality is the cause of all local movements. — Leonardo da Vinci

You can't learn to swim on a piano bench. — Milton Erickson (American psychologist)

I believe the destiny of your generation — and your nation —is a rendezvous with excellence.  — Lyndon B. Johnson (36th President of the U.S.)

Since new developments are the products of a creative mind, we must therefore stimulate and encourage that type of mind in every way possible. — George Washington Carver

I learned the value of hard work by working hard. — Margaret Mead

We won't have a society if we destroy the environment. — Margaret Mead

Hell, there are no rules here — we're trying to accomplish something.  — Thomas Edison

Preservation of one's own culture does not require contempt or disrespect for other cultures. — Cesar Chavez

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EDITED 06/12/14: Some other favorites, including three from Winston Churchill and some others, used much earlier in the school year.

Success is the ability to go from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm. — Sir Winston Churchill

If you're going through hell, keep going. — Sir Winston Churchill


Never give in -- never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy. — Sir Winston Churchil

The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off.  — Gloria Steinem

We have a habit in writing articles published in scientific journals to make the work as finished as possible, to cover up all the tracks, to not worry about the blind alleys or describe how you had the wrong idea first, and so on.  —Richard Feynman, Nobel Lecture, 1966