Esther Wojcicki: How to Raise Successful People

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.

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[MR-tefk]

Seniors interview each other in a lovely way. Much different (not better, not worse, just different) than 99% of the others.

[donnasalongo]

My parents raised four successful children. Both my parents worked hard and we were POOR. This woman was a stay at home mom with a very successful husband. They had money so she didn’t have to work. I guess her book must be directed to those kinds of families, not poor families where moms have full time jobs.

[Nuttzers]

Just researched her!
She married a Stanford University professor of physics, and was a stay at home Mom until her youngest reached the age of 11
If EVERY family could afford to do what she did, I feel like we would have A LOT more successful people in the world 🤦‍♂....
PS: This isn't supposed to be an insult towards her. But buying her book isn't going to give you the same results as being a stay at home mother, then getting a job at the age of 43.

[drawohsfc]

I love the interview, very informative

[goober]

Great interview. Not as much as a helicopter parent, but I do see where I don't trust my kids enough. Nice to hear a different perspective on that.

[Oyuki-Mayonesa]

Great interview! Great questions and great answers! Pearls of wisdom.
59:02 oh no that is a horrible situation. I’m so sorry this happened

[scaredofghosts]

Step 1: be wealthy.
..thats it, thats all it takes lol especially in the caste system the US has created for itself

[danielbrown]

Yeah parents, don't help your kids. I am positive she didn't help them gain access to educations at Harvard and Yale. No, obviously her daughters just somehow got into the best universities in the US and paid for the educations that actually helped them to be successful all on their own.
Be real.

[osamabad]

Funny how she makes fun of Amy Chua’s daughter for not knowing what she wants to do with her life after telling a story about how all three of her children didn’t know what to do after they graduated college

[VtRD]

"Your child is not your pet." Best explanation of helicopter parenting I've heard. Helicoptering over children because, as a parent, you have low self esteem, and need to express that by pushing your children into places you wanted to go and didn't, ultimately not in their best interest.

[omcorc]

When do we get to stop forcing definitions of “success” on new generations? When do we stop having to be defined by our occupations? You people are lost. Wake up.

[augmiester]

Probably the most boring interview I've ever heard

[earlaweese]

*I LITERALLY just made a video (and uploaded it on YouTube) exposing how she actually DIDN’T raise successful people and brought forth VALID/NO-NONSENSE evidence AS A DISABLED PERSON to uphold my “argument”.*