Marissa Mayer - CEO of Yahoo -

[Lisbeth]

Do you think her many and varied activities as a child/young adult has contributed to her success, or would she have been successful anyway?

 

I know this debate comes up on this board about how many activities to have your kids in...so when I read her bio it made me think of that. (I read another article that mentioned that her mom kept her very busy in activties, daily going to one extra lesson or another.)

 

http://womensissues.about.com/od/influentialwomen/p/Biography-Profile-Of-Marissa-Mayer-Bio-Of-Yahoo-Ceo-Marissa-Mayer.htm

 

"Mayer states her childhood was "wonderful" with a world-class ballet school and many opportunities right in town. Both parents were dedicated to nurturing their children's interests. Her father built a backyard ice-rink for her younger brother and her mother drove her to numerous lessons and activities over the years. Among those she sampled: ice skating, ballet, piano, embroidery and cross stitch, cake decorating, Brownies, swimming, skiing and golf. Dancing was one activity that clicked. By junior high, Mayer danced 35 hours a week and learned "criticism and discipline, poise and confidence" according to her mother. Other influences figure prominently in her childhood. Her teal-painted bedroom featured Techline furniture (establishing early on her preference for clean lines and minimalist design), and one concession to girlhood was her Jackie Kennedy doll collection."

[Dandelion]

Here's what really stood out to me from the article:

 

 

"A cupcake aficionado, she's been known to study cupcake cookbooks, create spreadsheets of ingredients, and test versions of her own before writing new recipes. "I’ve always loved baking," she once told an interviewer. "I think it’s because I’m very scientific. The best cooks are chemists."

 

 

 

On a more serious note, I think this is an interesting topic for discussion. Have to run for now, but I felt the cupcake mention needed to be shared right away. :D

[kewb]

Yes, I think her many varied activities contributed towards her business success. She may have been successful anyway but it may have taken longer to get there.

[Lisbeth]

I can see Kristen from the current Top Chef being this type of methodical and perfectionistic baker. :) I love Kristen. And INTJs.

[TXMomof4]

I think she would have been successful anyway. Someone with the drive and determination to do well - they seem to take their situation and make it work. This weekend I was listening to " From Scratch" in NPR. The guest was the founder of match . Com. He was a juvenile deliquent apparently - but everything he's done as an adult has been wildly successful. I think that kind of intelligence or ability is innate. It always seems to be they could be a criminal mastermind or wildly successful - nothing in the middle.

[laughing lioness]

I heard recently that if you want your kid to be very proficient by the time they graduate at the piano (there was a certain term used but I can't remember it- basically the person could get in to college with their playing) it will cost around $10,000. I think what is missing in some of these discussions is the COST of providing the kind of childhood Mayer's had. World class ballet is not free. Having a day with the time and money to drive her around and provide the childhood she had is not free. Her parents obviously had time and money to pour in to her.

 

I am listening to The Power of Habit right now and the discussion is how our brains actually become wired for habitual tasks- Miss Mayer's brain was wired from a very young age to do certain things (think scientifically and in spread sheet form ; ) -and she now applies that very successfully to greater, financially viable areas of life.

 

The research shows that folks can change- they don't have to be wildly successful or a criminal mastermind- look at the success of 12 step groups. Folks can and do change their destinies- and it is now documented that when they do, their brain patterns change as well.