Overview

The 7 Mindsets are based on a multi-year research

effort into the happiest and most successful people
who’ve ever lived. We reviewed the most extensive
and important studies on personal achievement
ever conducted, analyzed hundreds of books, and
directly interviewed over 500 of the world’s most
successful individuals.

The 7 Mindsets are the result of these efforts: a

comprehensive blueprint for meaning, happiness,
and success, written in a language that is easily
understood and, more importantly, ready to be
applied to one’s life.

The 7 Mindsets approach is based on the premise

that success depends less on what a person knows,
and much more significantly on how he or she
thinks. Our mindsets provide the foundation for
resilience, motivation, and meaning in life. By
making small shifts in the way someone views the
world and his or her future in it, we help create a
positive and sustainable transformation.

With this positive impact in mind, we developed

the 7 Mindsets Academy program for teaching the
mindsets in schools and youth organizations. For
students, the benefits are significant and measurable:
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increased self-determination and self-awareness;
improved behavior, test scores and graduation rates;
greater confidence and engagement. Students as
well as teachers and administrators experience the
benefits to the overall school climate.

What The 7 Mindsets Teach:

• Dream bigger and increase expectations with a
more optimistic view of the future

• Discover unique talents and passions and align

them with personal goals

• Develop empowering relationships and learn

to work with, for, and through others

• Take responsibility for your life by becoming

100% accountable

• Appreciate what you have in life and bounce

back more quickly from setbacks

• Embrace social responsibility and the

importance of giving back

• Write a personalized life plan and take action

toward realizing your goals and dreams

In creating the 7 Mindsets, we defined the four

essential elements of each that were critical to lives
of extraordinary happiness, meaning, and success.
The following are brief summaries of each, along
with some of the steps you can use to apply the
mindsets in your life and share them with others.

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 Mindset # 1:

Everything Is Possible
Dream big, embrace creativity
and expect great results
Everything Is Possible helps us understand that
we are all capable of extraordinary lives. Everything
that exists was once an idea that someone believed
was possible, and through that belief it became
a reality. Through this mindset, you will learn to
envision a wonderful life, expect greatness, and
effectively execute the process of making your
dreams come true.

1. Dream Big
People who have had huge accomplishments in life
realize the greatest limitations are those they place
on themselves. Increasing expectations applies to
success in school and business, the condition of
your body, the quality of your relationships, and
the impact you can have on the lives of others.
Dreaming big is about raising the expectations you
have for your life. When you do this, your future
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becomes infinitely bigger and brighter.

2. Embrace Creativity
The only time you are creating new things in
your life is when you are being imaginative and
innovative. If you want things to change, and you
want things you have never had, you must do things
you’ve never done. This could be reading a book and
acquiring new knowledge, debating a topic with a
friend, or undertaking a new activity like skydiving.
Your life can only expand through creative action!

3. Think Positive
People with a brighter outlook on life are not only
happier, they also accomplish more. Start believing
there is more for you in life, expect good things
from other people, and find the positive in all the
situations. These simple acts will make you happier
in the moment and make your future much brighter.

4. Act and Adjust

You must act if you want to get results. It’s
important to plan and develop strategies, but only if
they drive you to action. If you do not act, nothing
will change. The greatest obstacle to taking action
is fear of failure. The most successful people in the
world know that there is no failure, only feedback.
Learn from your mistakes and move on. This is the
only way your dreams will ever become a reality.
Act on them and be prepared to adjust.

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 Mindset #2:

Passion First
Pursue your authentic talents
and deepest interests
Passion First teaches that each of us is a unique
expression of human existence, and that our lives
should be focused on finding our individual genius
and sharing it with the world to the maximum
extent possible. You will learn to make your dreams
authentic, and they will give you the fuel to overcome
the many obstacles you’ll face along the way.

1. Focus on Strengths
Everyone has things he or she does well. When
you do the things you are good at, you perform
better and get better results. And better results
means greater benefits, both to yourself and to those
around you. It is critical to play to your strengths in
life, and to spend time doing the things you’re best
at in order to create the most value for yourself. It
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is also important to know that your strengths are
much more than just things you do well (e.g. math,
sports, music); they also involve situations in which
you thrive and the people with whom you are at your
best. You must understand all of these strengths to
multiply your successes.

2. Explore Your Interests

We all have things we enjoy doing. When you like
doing something, you do more of it, even in your
free time. When you’re doing things that energize
and engage you, your focus is greater, and you
perform better and improve faster. Doing these
things more often, with a greater degree of intensity,
allows you to become great at them. And when
you’re great at something, the world notices, and
your value to others increases. When this happens,
more wonderful things flow into your life.

3. Make a Stand
It is very important that you play to your
strengths and interests whenever possible. It is
equally important that what you do is important
to you and your life. What you do must matter to
you. No matter what dream you choose, there will
be challenges to attaining it, and some of what you
will have to undertake along the way may not be
something you’re necessarily good at or enjoy. So
you must understand what your core values are and
always have them in mind.

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 You will always be your strongest when you are
acting from your values. You will act with your
greatest power, and you will be able to overcome all
obstacles and challenges.

4. Be Authentic
Great dreams must start from within. To do
something extraordinary, the dream must leverage
your strengths and interests, align with who you are
(your core values), and matter greatly to you. When
all of this is in place, you are your most capable
and will perform at your best. The combination of
performance and persistence is the core ingredient
to the fulfillment of all great dreams.

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 Mindset #3:

We Are Connected
Explore the synergies in all relationships
and learn to empower one another
We Are Connected helps us understand that
everyone who comes into our lives can assist us in
living our dreams. Through this mindset, we learn
to constantly explore synergies with others, embrace
diversity, and relish competition, allowing us to
maximize our potential with and through others.

1. Embrace Everyone
Every person who comes into your life has the
potential to help you, hurt you, or have no impact
on you at all. It makes sense to figure out how
that person may be able to help you, because the
other options mean that you aren’t getting closer to
your dreams. People who live great lives embrace
everyone, and constantly seek ways to serve and be
served by the people they come into contact with.
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 2. Maximize Positive Relationships
There are people in your life that lift you up and
make you better. Unfortunately, there are also those
people that can bring you down. Work to spend
more time with people that empower you, and less
with those who don’t. Seek ways to get more out of
and put more into the great relationships in your
life.

3. Build Your Dream Team

Identify and build your Dream Team. These are the
people who will help you live your dreams. Perhaps
they have experience you can draw from, access to
resources you will need, or can provide you with
valuable support as you start living your dreams.
The important step is to recognize the critical role
others will play in your life, and deliberately begin
developing relationships that will help you.

4. Lead with Value

When you find people who can help you in life,
you want to start building those relationships
quickly so the cycle of giving can begin. A lesson
many have learned is that if you offer help before
you ask for help, you will ultimately get much more
out of the relationship. Look for ways to lead with
value to supercharge the relationship.

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 Mindset #4:

100% Accountable
Choose to be responsible for your
own happiness and success
100% Accountable teaches us that we are not
victims of our past, our future is not predetermined,
and our lives are what we choose from this moment
onward. With a focus on recognizing fears and
excuses, this mindset allows us to break down
barriers, freeing our minds and focusing our energy
to take the critical steps toward our goals.

1. Own Your Life

If you give away your ultimate freedom, the
freedom to act and think for yourself, you become
a victim. It happens when you allow the opinions
and actions of others to matter more than your own.
Begin the process of owning all aspects of your life
and actions, taking responsibility for your situation
and every moment of your life from now on. If you
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do, you will be in control, rather than allowing
others to control your life.

2. Overcome Limiting Beliefs

The greatest limitations in life are those you place
on yourself. They come in the form of fears, excuses,
and the counter mindsets. It is these limiting beliefs
that inhibit confidence and drive ineffective or
destructive behaviors. You can and must reprogram
your thinking to overcome limiting beliefs.

3. Focus Your Energy

There are 24 hours in a day. People who get the
most out of life do the most with the time they have.
They spend more time doing things that give them
energy, and use their energy to learn and accomplish
what is important to them. You must constantly
restructure your time so that you get the most out
of all the moments you have. When you do this each
day, you’ll be taking larger and more powerful steps
toward living your dreams.

4. Grow Through Life

Life is a process of continual growth. Recognize
this and seek to learn from all experiences, good
and bad. When you do so, you will constantly get
better. You must also proactively develop your
strengths and build new skills. Once you do this,
you will have truly become 100% Accountable, and
capable of creating the life of your dreams.

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 Mindset #5:

Attitude of Gratitude
Seek the positives from every experience,
and be thankful for all you have
Through the Attitude of Gratitude Mindset, we
are taught that we can use either the positives or
negatives in our lives as a foundation on which to
build. Choose the positives, and we are on our way
toward extraordinary success; choose the negatives,
and we will likely begin a downward spiral. By
focusing on the things we have, there is no time to
be distracted by what we don’t have.

1. Treasure Yourself
Create the fantastic life you want by cultivating
the great things within yourself. We all have things
we don’t like about ourselves, but we must recognize
that we’re made of more wonderful things than not.
Recognize the treasure that is you, cherish and
develop it, and let it shine so that you can live the
extraordinary life you’re meant to.

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 2. Be More Grateful
You have the choice in life to focus on the good
or the bad. If you focus on what you enjoy and are
privileged to have, these things will multiply and
you’ll be on the path to your dreams. If your attention
is on regret, jealously, anger, and resentment, these
elements will replicate, and you’ll continue to
experience more and more negative circumstances.
Simply be more grateful. As often as you can, think
about the good things in your life, as well as those
that may be coming to you.

3. Thank it Forward
One guaranteed way to feel better and become
happier is to do something for someone else. And
one of the most powerful things you can do for
someone is express gratitude for who they are and
what they have done for you. Thanking someone
provides two wonderful gifts: it makes the other
person feel good, and gives you good feelings in the
process.

4. Elevate Your Perspective

People who have lived great lives point to
moments of adversity and challenge as the times
when they learned critical lessons or built essential
skills that allowed them to be successful. Knowing
that, you can understand why it is important to seek
the positives in all situations, even those that seem
completely negative. When you do this, you get
better, learn, and grow in essential ways that let you
live a richer and fuller life.
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 Mindset #6:

Live to Give
Inspire and serve others while
maximizing your potential
Live to Give teaches us that abundance in one’s
life is a cycle, and to get love, respect, and financial
security, we must learn to give those things. This
mindset also teaches that the greatest gift we can
ever give is to find and leverage our unique genius
to maximize our positive impact on the world,
knowing that good things will be returned to us in
kind.

1. Stretch Yourself
Live to Give can sound a little bit selfish. While
the best way to get what you want is to give what
you can, the real point is to give because it is the
right thing to do. When you live your best life,
you do the things you are great at, and get the best
results. These results benefit you, but they also
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benefit others and the world around you, and that
is the reason to do it. Oprah Winfrey gives millions
of dollars to charity, but none of that will likely
impact the world as much as the inspiration her
talk show has provided to millions of viewers. Great
teachers have an enormous impact simply by being
great teachers. And you will give the most simply by
being your very best and by living your ultimate life.

2. Make a Difference
The easiest and quickest way to feel better and
become happier is to help someone. Amazingly,
we have also learned that the best way to get things
you want into your life is to start giving. When
you do this, you create value with your life and get
good things in return. To start or expand the flow
of abundance into your life, simply start making a
difference every day in every little way you can.

3. Receive Gracefully
One of the hardest things for people to deal with
when they start living their dreams is that they are
uncomfortable receiving the new and wonderful
things that come into their lives. They may not feel
worthy, or it may just be uncomfortable for them.
So, when opportunity knocks or people want to
help them, they shut the door and don’t let the good
things in. These gifts will give you new energy and
power to do more and help more in your own life.
By not receiving gracefully, you cut off the cycle of
giving and limit your own potential.

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 4. Leave a Legacy
The only thing of significance any of us leave
behind is the impact we had on others and the
world. The true meaning of your life happens when
it transcends and becomes greater than you as a
person. To leave a legacy, find your passion, then
orient your life around the legacy you want to leave.
Make your life transcend you.

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 Mindset #7:

The Time is Now

Harness the power of this moment
and take purposeful action
The Time is Now Mindset teaches us that all our
power exists in the moment. We cannot change the
past, and the future hasn’t happened; the only thing
to do is take purposeful action in the present to
create the life of our dreams.

1. Embrace Every Moment

One measure of your life is how you feel in each
moment. To what degree do you experience positive
emotions like joy, love, gratitude, and empathy?
When you embrace every moment, you squeeze
the most out of your experiences and live a life of
greater joy and happiness. Seek circumstances and
moments that create joy and memories. Even in
tough times, like the loss of someone close to you,
you experience love, and while sad, it can be a rich
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and positive emotion for your life.

2. Get in the Zone

When we act out of anger, jealously, or confusion,
we often get something wrong, and cause more
harm than good. Try to recognize when you are out
of sorts, stop what you’re doing, and figure out a
way to get in a better state of mind. When you can
do this, you’ll get into your zone, and the actions
you take will be much more effective and result in
a far more positive outcome. This is not to say that
acting out of anger should never happen. Justified
anger is real, like when you see others bullying
or discriminating against someone. The key is to
be sure you are acting appropriately and out of
necessity. But in any situation, it is vital to think
before you act.

3. Let Yourself Be Vulnerable

When you are vulnerable, you are in a heightened
state of emotion or energy. Whether you are
attacking a fear, taking a risk, or expressing a deep
feeling, your senses come alive and you really are
at your best. Many people don’t allow themselves
to be vulnerable, believing it is a sign of weakness.
In fact, allowing yourself to be vulnerable is one of
the strongest of human traits. Some of the greatest
moments in life happen when you’re at your most
vulnerable: applying for a job, proposing to your
life partner, or confronting a family member after
an offense. To become great, you must put yourself
in positions of vulnerability.

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 4. Act on Purpose
While all action is powerful, the actions you take
that align with your dreams are even more powerful.
First, they resonate with who you are and matter
to you, motivating you to try harder and work to
overcome more. Second, this ensures you’re taking
steps directly toward reaching your dreams, which
makes your actions more meaningful to the overall
quality of your life. Ask yourself about the actions
you take. Is this action moving me toward the life I
want? Or is it distracting me from my dreams?

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 Empowering young people to pursue their best
possible lives and helping prepare them for what lies
ahead is both our privilege and passion.

7 Mindsets Academy is a proven social emotional

learning and self-determination program that
changes the way students think, interact and
live. Designed to easily assimilate into any school
or youth organization’s culture, the 7 Mindsets
Academy program uses simple, powerful language
to teach and activate success strategies, guiding
students to avoid risky behaviors, pursue their
dreams with a heightened sense of purpose, and feel
empowered to make a meaningful difference in the
world.

7 Mindsets Academy isn’t about gaining more

knowledge or new skills. Learning the 7 Mindsets
ignites a proactive, fundamental shift in a young
person’s social emotional learning that increases
self-determination, academic performance, and
resilience.

With distinct curriculum levels for K-12, the 7

Mindsets Academy program can be implemented
site-wide or by individual classrooms in just 30-60
minutes a week. There is also a 7 Mindsets course
component to coach educational staff through
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professional development initiatives.

Contact us today at info@7mindsets.com to find

out how to establish a 7 Mindsets Academy and
bring the benefits of mindset education to your
school community!

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 Impact: Results of Independent Studies
Study 1: Improves Student Behavior
An independent study was performed at Liberty
Middle School in Cumming, GA, assessing the
number of students referred for suspension or
expulsion, as well as the total number of incidents
reported. The data was collected in the fall of 2013
without the 7 Mindsets Academy program running,
and again in the fall of 2014 after the program was
implemented.
Impact of 7 Mindsets Academy on Student Behavior

The study showed a 54% reduction in the number

of students referred for disciplinary action, as well
as a 46% decrease in the total number of incidents1.

1
Other factors may have also contributed to these results.
However, administration asserts the transformative
nature of the numbers implies the significant role of the
7 Mindsets program.

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 Study 2: Improves Grit and Resilience
In the summer of 2014, a study was executed
with 45 students age 13 to 19 from 9 countries
(United States, Dominican Republic, Mexico,
Brazil, Colombia, England, China, and South
Africa). For this study, two externally-developed
and scientifically-validated assessment tools were
utilized:

1. Grit Scale Assessment – Developed by Angela Lee

Duckworth at the University of Pennsylvania.

2. Resiliency Scales for Children and Adolescents – A

Profile of Personal Strengths (RSCA) developed by
Sandra Prince-Embury, PhD and published by Pearson

Students were given both the Grit and Resiliency

assessments on July 12, 2014, prior to 7 Mindsets’
annual Ultimate Life Summit event. They were then
given both assessments again on July 18, 2014 at the
conclusion of the weeklong event.

Summary of Grit
The Duckworth Lab focuses on two traits that
predict success in life: grit and self-control. Grit is
the tendency to sustain interest in and effort toward
long-term goals. Self-control is the voluntary
regulation of behavioral, emotional, and attentional
impulses in the presence of momentarily gratifying
temptations or diversions. On average, individuals
who are gritty are more self-controlled, but the
correlation between these two traits is not perfect:
some individuals are paragons of grit but not self-

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control, and some exceptionally, well-regulated
individuals are not especially gritty. While the full
correlation between these two traits hasn’t been
precisely specified yet, it seems that an important
distinction has to do with timescale: As Sir Francis
Galton suggested, the inclination to pursue
especially challenging aims over months, years, and
even decades is distinct from the capacity to resist
“the hourly temptations,” pursuits which bring
momentary pleasure but are immediately regretted.

Study Results
For the research effort, Dr. Mimi Gamel
segmented levels of Grit into three categories: (1)
Low (2) Average and (3) High. The objective was to
see what percentage of students started in the High
range vs. the percentage that ultimately got there by
the end of the program.
% of students scoring in the pre/post Grit scale from 7
Mindsets Pilot Study

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 During the pre-test, 11 of the 45 students
demonstrated high levels of Grit. At the time of the
post-test, 39 of the 45 students demonstrated high
levels of Grit. This assessment proves that Grit can
be taught and specifically through the 7 Mindsets
program.

Summary of Resiliency
The Resiliency Scales for Children & Adolescents™
measures the personal attributes of the child that
are critical for resiliency. The scales are composed
of three stand-alone global scales of 20-24 questions
each and ten subscales:

• Sense of Mastery Scale: optimism, self-efficacy,

adaptability

• Sense of Relatedness Scale: trust, support,

comfort, tolerance

• Emotional Reactivity Scale: sensitivity,

recovery, impairment

Study Results
For the research effort, Dr. Mimi Gamel
segmented levels of Resiliency into three categories:
(1) Low, (2) Average and (3) High. This was done
for all three subscales of the Resiliency Scale. The
objective was to see what percentage of students
started in the High range vs. the percentage that
ultimately got there by the end of the program.

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Sense of Mastery
% of students in pre/post scoring high according to
score criterion from 7 Mindsets Pilot Study

Sense of Relatedness
% of students in pre/post scoring high according to
score criterion from 7 Mindsets Pilot Study

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Emotional Reactivity
% of students in pre/post scoring high according to
score criterion from 7 Mindsets Pilot Study

Note: The desired outcome in the three areas shown above

is a decrease in emotional reactivity, which indicates an
improvement in a student’s ability to control his or her
actions and emotions. Less sensitivity, shortened recovery
time, and reduced impairment after an emotional situation
are all positive indicators of decreased emotional reactivity.

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 Testimonials
“Our school system is finding the 7 Mindsets Academy
program to be very effective with students and teachers.
The research confirms the importance of creating growth
mindsets in students and self-efficacy with teachers. The
7 Mindsets are fitting into our goal of creating a culture of
educational engagement in our school system.”
Dr. Ruth O’Dell
Superintendent, Franklin County School System

“At k12, combining the 7 Mindsets with academics has

helped make the relevant ties to life. We now have students
who are committed to “Live to Give” by volunteering in
homeless shelters, nursing homes, and soup kitchens.”
Early King
Senior Director - At-risk Programs, k12 Virtual Schools,

“For too long, school has been dominated with only

the academic preparation of students. With 7 Mindsets
Academy, schools can once again return to teaching the
whole child by providing them with the tools that they will
need for a lifetime of success and happiness. These tools
include things like creativity, problem solving, and grit,
yet none of these skills are included in state standards.
The 7 Mindsets Academy program provides a structured
and engaging way to bring these skills to students, so
that they leave our schools with both knowledge and the
ability to apply it in meaningful ways.”
Connie Stovall
Director of Instruction K-12, Forsyth County Schools

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