The main message so far* in the book, Mindset (by Carol Dweck) is that your intelligence and mental ability is like a muscle: it's not a fixed thing that you're dealt at birth. Like a muscle, if you work hard (enduring some discomfort along the way) it will get stronger.

This can be in areas of math, music, science, and creativity. I've generally thought of myself as not a very artistic person -- like that particular area is just not very accessible to me. It's exciting that almost everyone has the raw materials to become creative, or musically proficient, or scientifically thoughtful. I could do almost anything in these areas, and now it's just a matter of choice. It's like sitting in the middle of a brand new world, and you can go anywhere you want. When you look over the landscape, you see endless possibilities in every direction. Like in the introduction of the Lion King:

There's far too much to take in here.

More to do than can ever be done.

More to find than can ever be found.

There's more to be seen than can ever be seen.

This is true for me, and true for you, too. And it's true for our spouse, kids, coworkers and friends. Introduce a child to the growth mindset, and the world becomes a pretty exciting place to explore. Curiosity and determination beats apathetic innate talent in everything that matters.

Don't get stymied in the vastness of possibility; you're like a kid in a huge toy store. Find something and dig in! Draw a picture, write a story, follow your curiosity about the world into something fascinating. Do something awesome. And invite people close to you do it to.

(*I'm on chapter 3.)