Expectations

... play a big part in your success. That is, the expectations your parents (or caregivers) have on you as you grow up.

In both Hillbilly Elegy (poor white folk), My Grandfather's Son (poor black folk pre-civil rights) and Please Stop Helping Us (poor black folk post civil rights), the authors talk about how they made it out of poverty, drug abuse and crime while so many of their peers did not. Money plays some role, but not much. None of them were starving or living in migrant worker camps. They lived above that level of subsistence, but not by much.

What made the biggest difference in their lives were the expectations of their parents and grandparents. They grew up under expectations of hard work and sacrifice to get ahead in life. Each author notes how this made them unusual in their communities in some way. Each went on to achieve success.

There are similar common threads in the self-help books I read such as the ones from Zig Ziglar, Jordan Peterson and Brian Tracy.

Something to ponder.