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Cover of You Are Awesome

You Are Awesome

Written by Matthew Syed

5.01 rating

162 pages, about 3 hours of reading

Juvenile Nonfiction

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About this book

CHILDREN'S BOOK OF THE YEAR 2019 SUNDAY TIMES NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER "A very funny and inspiring read! Brilliantly practical with a wide variety of examples that make it relevant for both boys and girls (and adults)!" - online customer review "A truly inspiring book for the younger generation!" - online customer review "Genuinely funny and engaging. There are messages in this book for both adults and children. It's a must read." - online customer review "An awesome book about becoming awesome. How inspiring it is to know that there's a path to awesomeness and that anyone - absolutely anyone - can go down that path. This book shows you how." - Carol Dweck, Professor of Psychology, Stanford University This positive and empowering guide, by bestselling mindset author Matthew Syed, will help boys and girls build resilience, fulfil their potential and become successful, happy, awesome adults. I'm no good at sport ... I can't do maths ... I really struggle with exams ... Sound familiar? If you believe you can't do something, the chances are you won't try. But what if you really could get better at maths, or sport or exams? In fact, what if you could excel at anything you put your mind to? You Are Awesome can help you do just that, inspiring and empowering young readers to find the confidence to realise their potential. The first children's book from Times journalist, two-time Olympian and best-selling mindset author Matthew Syed, it uses examples of successful people from Mozart to Serena Williams to demonstrate that success really is earned rather than given, and that talent can be acquired. With hard work and determination, practice and self-belief, and, most importantly, a Growth Mindset, there's no reason why anyone can't achieve anything. Practical, insightful and positive, this is the book to help children build resilience, embrace their mistakes and grow into successful, happy adults. Also available: The You Are Awesome Journal. Whether setting out your goals, planning the best practice ever, keeping calm with breathing exercises or making paper aeroplanes to understand marginal gains, you'll love the brilliant activities in The You Are Awesome Journal - it's the perfect companion to You Are Awesome!

Reading guide

Themes, characters and key ideas in You Are Awesome, written by Chaptra AI.

  • about 8 hours
  • beginner
  • uplifting
  • inspiring
  • educational

Matthew Syed's "You Are Awesome" is a compelling motivational guide designed primarily for young readers, advocating for the transformative power of a growth mindset. Through engaging anecdotes and accessible explanations, the book challenges the fixed notion of innate talent, instead emphasizing that effort, resilience, and learning from mistakes are the true drivers of success and personal development. It encourages children to embrace challenges, understand that their abilities can be cultivated through practice, and recognize that failure is a crucial step on the path to mastery. Syed effectively distills complex psychological concepts into an empowering message that fosters self-belief and a proactive approach to learning and life.

“Your brain is like a muscle – the more you use it, the stronger it gets.”

Key themes

Growth Mindset vs. Fixed Mindset
This is the foundational theme of the book, contrasting the belief that abilities are innate and unchangeable (fixed mindset) with the understanding that abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work (growth mindset). Syed meticulously explains how embracing a growth mindset is crucial for learning, resilience, and achieving potential.
The Importance of Failure and Resilience
Syed argues passionately that failure is not an endpoint but an essential component of learning and growth. He reframes mistakes as valuable feedback, encouraging readers to embrace setbacks, analyze what went wrong, and persist with renewed effort. This theme is central to building resilience and overcoming the fear of trying new things.
Deliberate Practice and Effort
This theme emphasizes that simply repeating an action is not enough; true improvement comes from focused, intentional practice aimed at specific areas of weakness. Syed highlights that consistent effort, particularly outside one's comfort zone, is the true engine of skill development.

Worth discussing

Can you think of a time when you learned something difficult by practicing, even when you weren't good at it at first?

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