Author: Tierra Troutman
Tierra Troutman
Tierra Troutman is a marketing strategist, motivational speaker, and personal growth advocate based in New York City. As Chief Editor of Mindset & Skills, she brings a rare combination of sharp business thinking, genuine human warmth, and a relentless drive to help people unlock the best version of themselves — both professionally and personally. Tierra lives by the same values she writes about when she's not writing, editing, or performing. She is very dedicated to working out and eating right. She doesn't do these things just because they're trendy; they give her the energy and focus that her job needs. Tierra thinks that being physically fit and mentally sharp go hand in hand. She also really loves going on adventures. Tierra thinks that the best way to grow is to get out of your comfort zone a little, whether it's going on tour and seeing new cities or traveling to different continents and seeing new landscapes. Not only does that philosophy guide her on the trail, but it also shapes every piece of writing and editing she does, as well as every speech she gives.
Springbok Flyhalf Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu Mindset, Grit & Performance Philosophy Continuous Learning “Sponge mentality is me at the moment. I fully understand that I’m the new boy in the system and I’ve got a lot of work to do.” — On Growth & Humility Copy Competitive Edge “I come from a family of fighters… Off the field, I’m fairly humble and nice to people. But when I’m on the field, I turn into another beast.” — On Competition vs. Arrogance Copy Handling Pressure “The pressure of winning or losing compared to what others experienced fighting for real change gives a clear…
Most people can identify a certain moment, even if they haven’t given it a name. A brand-new project appears on your desk. An intriguing class is about to start. Someone starts a conversation in which you could be challenged. And a tiny but firm voice says, “Don’t bother.” Not aloud. Just in silence. steadfastly. There is a name for that voice. After years of research, psychologist Carol Dweck came up with the term “fixed mindset,” which refers to the ingrained conviction that your aptitude, talent, and intelligence are just what they are. baked in. Completed. The real-world examples are almost…
You can see it when a student puts down their pencil, sits back, and mentally checks out halfway through an exam in practically every middle school classroom. Not because the issue is unsolvable. since they’ve already determined that it is. Making that choice between reading the question and picking up a pen is the quietest and most significant work that mindset can do. For students, the difference between performing and not performing often has less to do with knowledge and more to do with what they think can be changed. A student who believes that their mathematical aptitude is fixed…
Most people have had the experience of sitting with a task that seems unachievable—not because it’s too complicated, but because something inside of them says it’s too much. That quiet, tenacious voice is the mindset at work. It can silently keep a door closed or open it. Motivation is not a mindset. It’s not a morning ritual or a mood board. It’s more akin to the operating system that powers everything else. It influences a person’s response to failure, how they interpret criticism, and whether they embrace or avoid hardship. Conversely, once internal architecture is established, people turn to skills.…
Within well-resourced organizations, there is a specific type of frustration. The dashboards are advanced. The project management software is current. The group has completed certifications, participated in strategy retreats, and attended workshops. Still, something doesn’t seem to be clicking. The numbers are decent but not outstanding. The culture seems a little strange. The issue is difficult to pinpoint. It’s possible that the tools are not the issue at all. or even the abilities. Perhaps it’s the order. When you remove the glossy frameworks and consulting jargon, organizational excellence boils down to three elements working in the proper sequence: mindset, skillset,…
The fact that a Filipino with internet access and a few hours to spare can sign up for a government-sponsored course, finish it at their own pace, and receive a certificate without having to pay a single peso is quietly amazing. This is precisely what the TESDA Online Program, or simply TOP, has been doing for years. It still doesn’t receive the attention it most likely merits, though. The platform, which is managed by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, provides Massive Open Online Courses, or MOOCs as they are known in contemporary education, that cover a variety of…
These days, a certain type of job posting frequently appears on Indeed and LinkedIn, requesting “Workday experience preferred” almost as an afterthought, tucked near the bottom of the requirements. The frequency with which that line alone decides who gets called back is intriguing. Businesses that use Workday are not very patient when it comes to onboarding new employees. They are looking for individuals who are familiar with the system, who can navigate a business process framework without a walkthrough, and who comprehend the real-world operations of a supervisory organization. Workday HCM online courses aim to bridge the knowledge gap between…
It was not Carol Dweck’s intention to write a best-selling book. In her own words, the answers she discovered as a research psychologist at Stanford were both straightforward and genuinely unexpected. She was investigating why some kids overcame failure while others fell apart. Mindset: That research led to the publication of The New Psychology of Success in 2006, and the fact that it continues to sell consistently almost twenty years later says something worth considering. The main idea is simple enough to fit on a Post-it note. When it comes to their own abilities, people typically operate from one of…
Sitting down with a book written by a Roman emperor, a man who led legions, oversaw a collapsing frontier, and still found time to debate anger with himself before bed, has a subtly strange quality. Marcus Aurelius never meant for his personal notes to be read by anybody. You can already tell that he wrote them in Greek rather than the official Roman imperial Latin. These weren’t declarations. These were dialogs he had with himself, written on the periphery of a life that was anything but typical. The Meditations was composed during military expeditions; portions were written close to the…
Charles Darwin was regarded as an ordinary student. According to reports, his father told him he wouldn’t amount to anything. Tolstoy was written off as uninteresting. One of the most well-known athletes in history, Michael Jordan, was cut from his high school basketball team. These myths don’t make you feel good. They are known beginning points for individuals who went on to become exceptional—not because they were naturally gifted, but rather because of how they handled difficult situations. Carol Dweck, a psychologist, spent decades researching that pattern. Her research, which was mostly conducted at Stanford, distinguishes between two ways that…