Winner Effect
We are all very primitive creatures and our brain has this tendency to behave in a way that can bring us closer or farther from our goals. How is it that some people are successful while other people fail miserably in life and business? In this book Winner Effect by Ian H. Robertson, he explains how the brain of a “winner”’s brain works and how you can start to develop a way to think and become a winner in your own life.
What actually motivates you to work harder? Many people have this tendency to think money is the best motivator. A research was conducted to find what rewards work best for people. One group was offered a compensation up to $75 for their work. The second group was offered no money at all and were told that this is a display of their intelligence. It seems like the first group would have outperformed. However, the results were very surprising. When we are actually motivated, the putamen of our brain which is the “reward network” of our brain switches on. The people in the money compensation group did not show much activity. On the other hand, these people motivated by the academic status had their achievement motivation kicking in. Although this group had no tangible rewards available for them, their brain centre for motivation and reward was turned on. This shows that many successful people are not only driven by materialistic goals. They have ambition and vision about what they are going to do. For example, Mark Zuckerberg has a vision to allow people to access internet in undeveloped countries. Bill Gates has created a charity to cure disease in poor countries.
When someone is gambling, they have the gambler’s folly to believe that he has control over the roll of the dice. This illusion causes people at Las Vegas to gamble all their money and lose all of it. If they were given a choice to roll the dice themselves or for the dealer to roll the dice, the result was interesting. Individuals with power chose to roll the dice themselves because they felt that they can control the result. On the other hand, the low power individuals chose for the dealer to roll the dice. This proves that the low-power individuals are more likely to be accepting to political and economic problems rather than trying to change what’s happening as they feel that they are not able to have impact on it. As they start to believe that they have no impact, your brain is rewired into thinking that everything you do is pointless and always thinks in that state of mind. On the other hand, people with high status try to change things in their control instead of accepting. This doesn’t mean you should try to change things completely out of your control such as an earthquake or a hurricane, but it means you are the only person that has complete control over your salary and your life. As the old quote goes, “ God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”
Oscars is a prestigious award given to the actors that are perhaps the greatest of our time. A study shows that Oscar winners live on average four years longer than equally successful Oscar nominees. This shows that winning an Oscars makes someone live up to four years longer. Same rules apply for the Nobel Prize as well. The nominees and the winners have all achieved success. What makes these winners live longer? Again, the although these awards come with a lucrative award, it wasn’t the money that prolonged their life. It was the bald fact that they won that was able to extend their life. When someone wins the Oscars, they get this huge satisfaction which signals the brains’ dopamine systems for doing a job well and achieving a goal. Winning these awards aren’t meaningful just because of the compensation that they were able to receive, it was meaningful because of the honor and the feeling of achievement that they felt. If you are able to add a prize you can win into your life, you are able to have a mini-Oscars effect. Though it might not be four years, it will definitely make you happier and more satisfied.
This book is all about neuroscience and how our brain operates. I found this book to be very helpful and intriguing. This book is a must read for anyone that wants to be successful or live a good life. This book teaches a lot about how our primitive brain thinks and how to think like a winner.
Stay strong!
We are all very primitive creatures and our brain has this tendency to behave in a way that can bring us closer or farther from our goals. How is it that some people are successful while other people fail miserably in life and business? In this book Winner Effect by Ian H. Robertson, he explains how the brain of a “winner”’s brain works and how you can start to develop a way to think and become a winner in your own life.
What actually motivates you to work harder? Many people have this tendency to think money is the best motivator. A research was conducted to find what rewards work best for people. One group was offered a compensation up to $75 for their work. The second group was offered no money at all and were told that this is a display of their intelligence. It seems like the first group would have outperformed. However, the results were very surprising. When we are actually motivated, the putamen of our brain which is the “reward network” of our brain switches on. The people in the money compensation group did not show much activity. On the other hand, these people motivated by the academic status had their achievement motivation kicking in. Although this group had no tangible rewards available for them, their brain centre for motivation and reward was turned on. This shows that many successful people are not only driven by materialistic goals. They have ambition and vision about what they are going to do. For example, Mark Zuckerberg has a vision to allow people to access internet in undeveloped countries. Bill Gates has created a charity to cure disease in poor countries.
When someone is gambling, they have the gambler’s folly to believe that he has control over the roll of the dice. This illusion causes people at Las Vegas to gamble all their money and lose all of it. If they were given a choice to roll the dice themselves or for the dealer to roll the dice, the result was interesting. Individuals with power chose to roll the dice themselves because they felt that they can control the result. On the other hand, the low power individuals chose for the dealer to roll the dice. This proves that the low-power individuals are more likely to be accepting to political and economic problems rather than trying to change what’s happening as they feel that they are not able to have impact on it. As they start to believe that they have no impact, your brain is rewired into thinking that everything you do is pointless and always thinks in that state of mind. On the other hand, people with high status try to change things in their control instead of accepting. This doesn’t mean you should try to change things completely out of your control such as an earthquake or a hurricane, but it means you are the only person that has complete control over your salary and your life. As the old quote goes, “ God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”
Oscars is a prestigious award given to the actors that are perhaps the greatest of our time. A study shows that Oscar winners live on average four years longer than equally successful Oscar nominees. This shows that winning an Oscars makes someone live up to four years longer. Same rules apply for the Nobel Prize as well. The nominees and the winners have all achieved success. What makes these winners live longer? Again, the although these awards come with a lucrative award, it wasn’t the money that prolonged their life. It was the bald fact that they won that was able to extend their life. When someone wins the Oscars, they get this huge satisfaction which signals the brains’ dopamine systems for doing a job well and achieving a goal. Winning these awards aren’t meaningful just because of the compensation that they were able to receive, it was meaningful because of the honor and the feeling of achievement that they felt. If you are able to add a prize you can win into your life, you are able to have a mini-Oscars effect. Though it might not be four years, it will definitely make you happier and more satisfied.
This book is all about neuroscience and how our brain operates. I found this book to be very helpful and intriguing. This book is a must read for anyone that wants to be successful or live a good life. This book teaches a lot about how our primitive brain thinks and how to think like a winner.
Stay strong!