Are You Good At Giving Feedback? An Exercise in Clapping
by Nancy Darling

My brother teaches middle school social studies, a job that requires him to give lots and lots of feedback. Some of it is called grading. A big part of his job is to teach kids to do a careful analysis, then present good, clear arguments that are well bolstered with facts. One of the hardest parts of his job is helping students to understand how to master this craft when every essay they write has slightly different demands and requirements.

Parents often spend a lot of time doing the same thing, although the behaviors we are looking for aren’t always as clear cut as the rubric for grading a persuasive essay. In her work on parenting style, Baumrind found that all parents had fairly clear ideas about how they want their children to behave, although they differ in how they help their children get there. Even if parents can’t always articulate them clearly, they can always tell that when their expectations have been violated. It’s when they get annoyed.

At work, supervisors do the same thing, judging employees’ performance based on how well it matches up to their internal sense of how the job should be done.

All of us – teachers, parents, and supervisors – are constantly passing judgments and providing feedback so that those we’re working with will perform better over time.

My brother shared this exercise with me. I think it does a good job of demonstrating what kind of feedback is most helpful and it’s one I often do in class. But it requires a little imagination.

The Clapping Contest: An Exercise for the Imagination

Imagine you are taking part in a clapping contest. I know it’s an odd thing to do, but just imagine it…..

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Are You Good At Giving Feedback? An Exercise in Clapping

Source: www.psychologytoday.com

Here is a list of 50 people who achieved success, but who failed at first. This list includes businessmen, scientists, inventors, public figures, actors, actresses and directors, writers, artists, musicians and athletes.

50 Famously Successful People Who Failed at First

Not everyone who’s on top today got there with success after success. More often than not, those who history best remembers were faced with numerous obstacles that forced them to work harder and show more determination than others. Next time you’re feeling down about your failures in college or in a career, keep these fifty famous people in mind and remind yourself that sometimes failure is just the first step towards success.

Business Gurus
These businessmen and the companies they founded are today known around the world, but as these stories show, their beginnings weren’t always smooth.

1. Henry Ford: While Ford is today known for his innovative assembly line and American-made cars, he wasn’t an instant success. In fact, his early businesses failed and left him broke five time before he founded the successful Ford Motor Company.
2. R. H. Macy: Most people are familiar with this large department store chain, but Macy didn’t always have it easy. Macy started seven failed business before finally hitting big with his store in New York City.
3. F. W. Woolworth: Some may not know this name today, but Woolworth was once one of the biggest names in department stores in the U.S. Before starting his own business, young Woolworth worked at a dry goods store and was not allowed to wait on customers because his boss said he lacked the sense needed to do so.
4. Soichiro Honda: The billion-dollar business that is Honda began with a series of failures and fortunate turns of luck. Honda was turned down by Toyota Motor Corporation for a job after interviewing for a job as an engineer, leaving him jobless for quite some time. He started making scooters of his own at home, and spurred on by his neighbors, finally started his own business.
5. Akio Morita: You may not have heard of Morita but you’ve undoubtedly heard of his company, Sony. Sony’s first product was a rice cooker that unfortunately didn’t cook rice so much as burn it, selling less than 100 units. This first setback didn’t stop Morita and his partners as they pushed forward to create a multi-billion dollar company.

Read the whole list of 50 Famously Successful People Who Failed At First.

Source:
www.onlinecollege.org/2010/02/16/50-famously-successful-people-who-failed-at-first/

I am glad to announce that I have redesigned the “Daily Quote” page of this website. If you go to SuccessConciousness.com main site, you will see the “Daily Quote” link at the top of the right side of every page. When you click on the link you will be directed to the “Daily Quote” page. On that page you will find an inspiring quote, as well as an inspiring picture. You will also find beneath the picture a link leading to more quotes of the same author, or to quotes dealing with same subject. Sometimes the link points to an article about the same subject as the quote.

The former version of the Daily Quote opened in a small window, always with the same picture, but in the new version, it is a full size page with different pictures, and with a greater collection of quotes.

I have found that most people love to read inspirational quotes, because quotes motivate, inspire and teach, and help the reader to look at life from a different, and often-broader perspective.

Quotes, especially when they contain words of wisdom, often touch an invisible chord in the soul, and are like fine chocolate for the soul. Quotes bring light, understanding and sometimes humor too. They bring hope and faith, and help in times of difficulties and in time of happiness and success.

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Do you want to use the power of your mind to attract things into your life?

There are some important first steps you should follow, and which require the investment of time and effort on your part. Using the power of your mind to create success doesn’t mean that you just think of something and it immediately jumps into your life.

People who learn about creative visualization and the law of attraction, often get too enthusiastic, and think that they will soon achieve success and get everything they want, just by thinking about what they want. But when nothing happens they get disappointed and abandon this subject.

Your thoughts and imagination can make changes in your life, but you need to follow certain rules, have a really strong desire, and be willing not just to dream or visualize, but do whatever necessary to get what you want, even if this involves work and, effort.

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