<p>What is the general mindset, if at all there is a common one, that leads some people to accomplish unusual and extraordinary feats like scoring 150 on AMC, qualifying for International Mathematics Olympiad, Olympics, USACO Gold, top Intel/Siemens prizes, etc.</p>
<p>Beyond the natural talent and sheer intellectual capacities of these people, is there something, perhaps a psychological mindset, that enables them to do this kind of stuff?</p>
<p>Or am I barking up the wrong tree? Is it really just practicing everything these people can get their hands on?</p>
<p>And then there are those who are not exceptionally bright or knowledgeable like the aforementioned people, but who just do a lot of stuff, and do well enough in each thing to create solid well-rounded profiles? What enables these people to do just a sheer volume of work that in itself is not very difficult but takes continual effort and other personal qualities? These people tend to be the ones with 4.0uw, 2300-2400, maybe some sports, regional competitions, etc. etc. that is so typical of many HYPMS applicants on CC.</p>
<p>Perseverance. Work hard enough at something with the mindset that you will succeed and never give up and you'll see yourself break through eventually.</p>
<p>I think that those who make perfect scores on the AMC and stuff like that are born with the talent; yes they practice but it's generally very difficult for others to do so well.</p>
<p>Now those students who are well-rounded - those are much more impressive IMO. As you stated they're smart but don't necessarily genetically-gifted Einsteins; no, they work their way up by hard work, getting involved and personal determination.</p>
<p>I also think parental motivation is a huge factor.</p>
<p>Well, I'm more of a person in the second category you mentioned (although I do have some achievements from the first category) and frankly I think it all comes down to a trivial pursuit of success.</p>
<p>OPPORTUNITY
you can be the most brilliant person out there, but w/o a good school, or opportunities for you to shine (i mean, some people don't even get research opportunities to go to intel or whatevs)
but it takes hard work, too
amongst my friends, mostly overly motivated parents</p>
<p>
[quote]
OPPORTUNITY
you can be the most brilliant person out there, but w/o a good school, or opportunities for you to shine (i mean, some people don't even get research opportunities to go to intel or whatevs)
but it takes hard work, too
amongst my friends, mostly overly motivated parents
[/quote]
</p>
<p>that's probably generally true, however from my personal experiences, I go to a relatively ****** high school and have been able to accomplish some of the unusual feats described by the OP...</p>
<p>I believe it is the setting in which the individual grows that most significantly influences his/her success...though aptitude also plays a major role...which is nature. I give up. :/</p>
<p>yeah school's important. my school's pretty retarded....we have zero good academic programs and our principal thinks we are all that 'cuz we're good at sports
well, anyways, i too often see kids depressed because they haven't won Intel, gone to IMO, or whatever...but seriously, this is just high school. I'm sure a lot of intel winners end up completely mediocre after four years at harvard, or whatever
oh, and connections are important, too...if you meet the right ppl, you can basically do anything.......</p>
<p>There are many factors, but I'd cap opportunity/chance/environment as one huge factor.</p>
<p>If your parents didn't push you earlier, well, uh...lol.</p>
<p>I'm not blaming my parents, but they basically never pushed me in education, and I went to a ghetto/pretty horrible elementary/middle school (now at a decent HS, although it's only decent) and so even teachers were not very encouraging about education.</p>
<p>It's to the point where I literally don't recall a single day of studying during my elementary and middle school years, repeating the same cycle over and over: school (sleep), come home, play games, exercise, hang out with friends, sleep, eat.</p>
<p>I think that as a current sophomore, I've done more "work" and "intellectual" stuff in the past month than I've ever had in all my years of life combined (and even the actual amount is not a lot.)</p>
<p>"Success does not consist in never making mistakes but in never making the same one a second time." & "The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want and if they can't find them, make them. "</p>
<p>To be more specific than just perseverance, I have found that the most important thing is the ability to put of gratification. Defer your gratification until later, always seeks something bigger and better. When I was a kid (we lived in blue collar philly), my friends dad was an electrician, and he bought himself a fancy brand new corvette. I asked my dad why we didnt have a corvette, just a van, and he said that one day, he would employ hundreds of people like my friends dad, and have 10 corvettes. He took all of the money he made and instead of buying flashy crap, he reinvested it, and now he is a CEO of a large company, and he is loaded. Delay your gratification, do not get a girlfriend, use the energy that you would otherwise use on sexual pursuits on something else. The most potent form of energy is sublimated sexual energy. Use this to your advantage.</p>
<p>Uh, I guess I have one of the things you mentioned, and yea, I think it's just mostly hard work that got me to that point, since when I first started, I was pretty sucky. And maybe knowing that the opportunity existed too, but with the internet, I don't think that's really as big of a deal as before. Like, if I just depended on my school to know about these things, I wouldn't have known about them at all.</p>
<p>But yea, I remember somewhere an IMO Gold-medalist saying that when he first started doing math contests and stuff, he was getting about a 70-80 on the AMCs.</p>
<p>staying organized and sticking to schedules and short term goals. and eating often so you can have the energy to do what you need to do and not be lazy.</p>
<p>Honestly, i think most of those kids' parents just push them really hard. No teenager will voluntarily dedicate themselves to education that much. Probably a combo of parental involvement and crazy dicipline.</p>