This guy literally explained why some people become successful while others stay average.

The reason is uncomfortable. Game Theory

pic.twitter.com/HvoUlu6fSO

— Tansu Yegen (@TansuYegen) March 9, 2026

The Marshmallow Test: Why Self-Control is the Engine of Success, Walter Mischel, 2015.

Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, Carol S. Dweck, 2007.  Those who succeed in life have a growth mindset.  Resilience.  

K. Anders Ericsson, Deliberate Practice.  People who succeed practice strategically.  Self-reflection, constantly thinking about yourself as a student.

Instructor is Jiang Xueqin.

Dunning Kruger Effect. Hardest part of being a student is to assess yourself properly and know where you stand and how to improve. Those who are stupid are often the most confident in the world, what is called the Dunning-Kruger Effect. Often the people in power are stupid. They don't know they're stupid, they were confident, but they do stupid things . . . .

Correlation does not = Causation. Just because things are correlated does not mean they cause each other.

Just because you get up at 4am in the morning, doesn't mean you're going to succeed.

Just because you work hard, doesn't mean you're going to succeed.

Just because you're resilient, doesn't mean you're going to succeed.

Just because you have a growth mindset does not mean you succeed.

If you're successful in life, you'll have more self-control.

If you're successful, you'll have more resilience.

If you're successful, you're more humble in life.

If you're rich, you become successful, and therefore you will have a growth mindset, self-control, deliberate practice. But isolated, just because you have growth mindset, self-control, deliberate practice doesn't mean you'll be successful.

WHY DOES THIS HAPPEN, AND ULTIMATELY WHO SUCCEEDS?

Rich people are more likely to succeed than poor people. From macroeconomic studies, we know that school doesn't really matter how well you do in school. If your parents are rich, you'll be successful in life. If your parents are poor, you will not be successful in life.

PARENTING STRATEGIES VS. RICH & POOR

Marshmallow Test is bot a test in self-control; it's a test in others.