Molly Prince

College counselor, teacher, coach, triathlete, and life-long learner. I love to help others discern and design paths toward their goals. "Forward is a pace!"

[Dylan Jardon 🌈 @DylanJardon]

"Perfection is impossible.

In the 1,526 singles matches I played in my career, I won almost 80% of those matches.

But what percentage of points did I win?

54%

In other words, even top ranked tennis players win barely more than half the points they play.

When you lose ever second point on average, you learn not to dwell on every shot.

You teach yourself to think:
'Okay, I double faulted...it's only a point.'
'Okay, I came to the net and I got passed again...it's only a point.'

Even a great shot, an overhead backhand smash that ends up on ESPN's top 10 playlist – that too is just a point.

Here's why I'm telling you this.

When you're playing a point, it has to be the most important thing in the world. And it is.

But when it's behind you, it's behind you.

This mindset is crucial – because it frees you to fully commit to the next point with intensity, clarity, and focus."

–@rogerfederer

[Jon Boeckenstedt @JonBoeckenstedt]

Everyone needs to demand accountability from the people at @usedgov including @SecCardona for this horrible clustermuck with FAFSA.

Educational opportunities are in peril for students who need the most support. We don't need more chest-thumping letters. We need this fixed.

[James S Murphy @James_S_Murphy]

Super proud of the awesome young people I know who got good news about college tonight, but also want to say where you go to college ends up being one of the least interesting things about you as an adult. It's what you learn there and who you become as an adult.

[Michael Trivette @michaeltrivette]

First-year applicants with nearly flawless transcripts (A's across the board in rigorous courses) and 32-34 ACTs are getting waitlisted as Computer Science majors at UMass Amherst.

We keep trying to tell the masses that CS is a different ballgame at selective institutions.

[Molly Prince @MollyBPrince]

Valuable information here for any high school student with disabilities looking toward college as the next chapter.
https://t.co/Xv2VB1bCmk

[Billy Oppenheimer @bpoppenheimer]

Days after a quarterfinals loss in the 2010 French Open, Novak Djokovic told his coach, Marián Vajda, that he had decided to quit playing tennis.

He was No. 3 in the world, a grand slam winner, and a favorite to win Wimbledon.

After Djokovic said he was quitting, Vajda asked,

“Why did you start playing this sport?”

Vajda immediately sensed what the problem was:

Djokovic was focusing too much on rankings, records, titles, and external expectations. As a result, Djokovic said, “I was mentally at one very messed up place.”

As Djokovic thought about Vajda’s question, he thought about how many of his earliest childhood memories include his “most beloved toy”—a mini tennis racket and a soft foam ball.

He started playing tennis, answering Vajda’s question, “because I just really loved holding that racket in my hand.”

“Do you still love holding a racket in your hand?” Vajda asked.

Djokovic thought about it for a few seconds, got excited, and said:

“I do. I still love holding a racket in my hand. Whether it’s a grand slam final on center court or just playing around on a public court, I like playing for the sake of playing.”

Vajda nodded, “Well that’s your source. That's what you need to tap into. Put aside rankings and what you want to achieve and what you think others are expecting of you.”

Vajda then suggested that Djokovic take a few weeks off.

Djokovic agreed that he would.

But when he woke up the next morning, Djokovic was dying to hit tennis balls. He went to the courts to play for the sake of playing. “And I never looked back ever since that moment.”

The following season, Djokovic enjoyed one of the greatest seasons in sports history. He won 43 straight matches. He won three Grand Slams, including his first Wimbledon title. And he finished the year as the number one player in the world.

“I started to play freely,” he says of that season. “I became the kid that I was when I started playing.”

Takeaway 1:

There's a word for being like the kid who does something for the sake of doing it:

Autotelic.

From the Greek "auto" (self) & "telos" (end)—an Autotelic is "someone or something that has a purpose in, and not apart from, itself."

As opposed to someone who focuses on rankings, records, titles, and external expectations—for an Autotelic...

”The work is the win,” as Ryan Holiday once told me.

Since you control the effort more than the outcome,

“Ultimately, you have to love doing it,” Ryan said. “You have to get to a place where doing the work is the win and everything else is extra.”

Takeaway 2:

When reading about Autotelics—people who describe their work as play, who simply seem to love what they do—a common mistake is to think that it’s all bliss all the time.

One of my favorite Autotelics is the legendary skateboarder Rodney Mullen, who is in his 50s and still skateboards every day.

“There are days,” Rodney said, “where you don’t want to go out. Or it hurts. Or you’re sore. Or you just suck—you're not making progress, and you feel defeated...But that's the nature of love—it's got hate in there, it's got pain in there. And that’s what draws you in, that's the magnetism.”

At one point during the recent Wimbledon final, Djokovic angrily smashed and shattered his racket. And after losing the match, he admitted that it will take him a while to get over the loss.

That’s the nature of love—it’s got hate in there, it’s got pain in there.

- - -

“I see people with talent, with all those things, but the one thing they don't have is just that love for doing it for the sake of it.” — Rodney Mullen

Follow @bpoppenheimer for more content like this!

[Rick Clark @Clark2College]

“Of the 20 CEOs at the nation’s biggest companies by revenue, only one attended an Ivy as an undergrad.
Moreover, 14 of the 20 CEOs went to public colleges.”

https://t.co/3L6FMpUJpO

[Junius Scott Prince @PrinceCCounsel]

The GRE Test Is Cut in Half: Two Hours and Done https://t.co/tT2R2SdS7g

[Junius Scott Prince @PrinceCCounsel]

With the resources available at Notre Dame, Harvard and Penn being in this bottom 30 is unconscionable ...
https://t.co/QS88vuBnyl

[MooreCollegeData @moorecollegedat]

NACAC's space available list is online.

Link to short list of institutions which indicate, for first-year students, the availability of 1) space in the class, 2) housing, and 3) financial aid.
https://t.co/a8X5ZGDcri

[TeacherGoals @teachergoals]

Important! 🙌

[philip lewis @Phil_Lewis_]

Two high school seniors who say they have proven Pythagoras’s theorem by using trigonometry – which academics for 2,000 years thought to be impossible – are being encouraged to submit their work to a peer-reviewed journal
https://t.co/ifEXJBRzm4

[Molly Prince @MollyBPrince]

So much wisdom here for students and families starting the college search process. I was honored to have my guidance included as well! Thank you, @BarnardBrennan https://t.co/oYcYQY41YV

[MindfulAdmission @BarnardBrennan]

Some advice from the pros for students starting their college search https://t.co/KmnvVfIE2J

[Junius Scott Prince @PrinceCCounsel]

New Rule for Hyper-Selective (Less Than 10% Admit Rate) College Admission Office Social Media Accounts: For every video posted of your excited students opening acceptances, you must post 9 videos of denied students opening notifications ... Keep it Real https://t.co/umqATHO7yL

[Molly Prince @MollyBPrince]

@SteeleThoughts Forty years ago in Darrell Gage’s PreCalc class, he would begin his answer to every question with, “(student’s name), I am SO glad you asked that!” We knew we were seen and recognized, and that our “wonderings” were appreciated. I love aiming to do the same with my students!

[Teacher2Teacher @teacher2teacher]

By setting these 6 expectations, T @MrCamiz sets his Ss up for success.

(Inspired by educator @fastcrayon) #SchoolClimate #GrowthMindset #ChampForKids

[Tim Ferriss @tferriss]

"Perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor. It's the voice of the enemy. And if you listen to it, it keeps you crazy for your entire life because we all fall short." — @ANNELAMOTT

Listen to my interview with Anne Lamott here: https://t.co/r8x96I0TPg

[Danny Steele @SteeleThoughts]

Here's to all the teachers who are flying under the radar... not getting much attention. Their engaging lessons aren’t on Twitter. Their cool interactions with kids aren’t captured on YouTube. But they’re still crushing it. And they’re making a difference for a lot of students.