Esther Wojcicki, known as the Godmother of Silicon Valley, shares her groundbreaking insights on raising successful individuals. She introduces the TRICK approach—Trust, Respect, Independence, Collaboration, and Kindness—as essential elements for nurturing potential. Wojcicki discusses redefining success, emphasizing personal fulfillment over societal expectations. She also tackles modern parenting challenges, including college admissions anxiety and digital parenting, while advocating for kindness and resilience amidst today’s pressures.
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volunteer_activism ADVICE
Trust Children
Trust your children and give them meaningful responsibilities.
This helps them develop self-trust and rise to the occasion.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Target Trip
Esther Wojcicki let her young granddaughters shop independently at Target.
Her daughter panicked, highlighting generational differences in trust.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Slime Business
One of Esther's granddaughters started a slime-making business.
Esther respected the idea, demonstrating the importance of respecting children's ideas, however wacky.
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In this memoir, Amy Chua recounts her strict parenting methods, which she terms 'Chinese parenting,' and how these methods affected her relationship with her daughters, Sophia and Lulu. The book explores the cultural differences between Chinese and Western parenting styles, highlighting the intense academic and extracurricular expectations Chua placed on her daughters. It delves into the conflicts and rewards of this approach, including the daughters' achievements and the challenges they faced in adhering to their mother's demanding standards.
How to Win Friends and Influence People
Dale Carnegie
First published in 1936, 'How to Win Friends and Influence People' by Dale Carnegie is a timeless guide to improving interpersonal skills. The book is divided into four main sections: Six Ways to Make People Like You, Twelve Ways to Win People to Your Way of Thinking, and Nine Ways to Change People Without Giving Offense or Arousing Resentment. Carnegie's principles emphasize the importance of genuine interest in others, active listening, and avoiding criticism and argument. The book offers practical advice on how to build strong relationships, communicate effectively, and influence others by aligning their self-interest with yours. It has been a cornerstone of personal development and business success for generations[2][3][5].
How to Raise Successful People
Simple Lessons for Radical Results
Esther Wojcicki
In 'How to Raise Successful People: Simple Lessons for Radical Results,' Esther Wojcicki shares her approach to parenting based on the TRICK principle: Trust, Respect, Independence, Collaboration, and Kindness. Wojcicki, who has raised three highly successful daughters and taught numerous influential figures, including Steve Jobs's children, argues against helicopter parenting and instead promotes a hands-off approach that encourages children to take risks, make their own decisions, and develop self-reliance. The book emphasizes the importance of reflecting on one's own childhood experiences to improve parenting methods and focuses on building a strong foundation for children to become independent, respectful, and resilient individuals.
David and Goliath
Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants
Malcolm Gladwell
In 'David and Goliath', Malcolm Gladwell challenges conventional wisdom about obstacles and disadvantages. He uses the biblical story of David and Goliath as a starting point to explore various cases where underdogs have triumphed over more powerful opponents. The book delves into topics such as the benefits of 'desirable difficulties', the impact of dyslexia on successful individuals, and the dynamics of successful and unsuccessful strategies in different contexts, including warfare, education, and social movements. Gladwell argues that what appears to be a weakness can often be a strength, and that too much power or advantage can sometimes be counterproductive.
What does it take to raise successful people? Esther Wojcicki, lovingly referred to as the Godmother of Silicon Valley, has a simple answer to this million-dollar question. It comes in the convenient form of an acronym: TRICK (Trust, Respect, Independence, Collaboration and Kindness). It also comes in the form of her new book, How to Raise Successful People: Simple Lessons for Radical Results. Her tried-and-true advice for parents, employers and mentors of all kinds is to trust individuals to follow their passions and to work hard, to be supportive of their achievements and, above all, to relax. Her wisdom applies to the corporate hiring process, to young parents raising children, to teachers trying to be the best advocates for their students they can be. Wojcicki is a revered high school teacher in the media arts program she founded at Palo Alto High School, a role model for Silicon Valley legends such as Steve Jobs (and his daughter Lisa), and the mother of three successful daughters: the CEO of YouTube, a professor of pediatrics at UCSF medical school and one of the co-founders of 23andMe. Come join us for a conversation about mentoring, trust and unlocking human potential with a teacher and parent who has it figured out.
Commonwealth Club of California Podcast 
