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A widely held, but rarely articulated, belief in our society is that the ideal self is bold, alpha, gregarious. Introversion is viewed somewhere between disappointment and pathology.

Susan Cain

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Susan Cain
Age: 56
Born: 1968
Born: March 20
Lawyer
Non-Fiction Writer
Writer
Self
Rarely
Articulated
Disappointment
Alphas
Ideal
Alpha
Held
Pathology
Ideals
Gregarious
Somewhere
Viewed
Belief
Widely
Society
Bold
Introversion

More quotes by Susan Cain

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Introverts .. may have strong social skills and enjoy parties and business meetings, but after a while wish they were home in their pajamas.
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I'm insatiably curious about human nature. I feel very lucky that as a writer I get to learn so much about it just to do my job right.
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...if you can think of meetings you've attended, you can probably recall a time - plenty of times - when the opinion of the most dynamic or talkative person prevailed to the detriment of all.
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One honest relationship can be more productive than fistfuls of business cards.
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I use a lot of old-fashioned expressions.
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Figure out what you are meant to contribute to the world and make sure you contribute it
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Another study, of 38,000 knowledge workers across different sectors, found that the simple act of being interrupted is one of the biggest barriers to productivity. Even multitasking, that prized feat of modern-day office warriors, turns out to be a myth.
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Eleanor Roosevelt, Rosa Parks, Gandhi — all these peopled described themselves as quiet and soft-spoken and even shy. And they all took the spotlight, even though every bone in their bodies was telling them not to.
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But when the group is literally capable of changing our perceptions, and when to stand alone is to activate primitive, powerful, and unconscious feelings of rejection, then the health of these institutions seems far more vulnerable than we think.
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I look back on my years as a Wall Street lawyer as time spent in a foreign country.
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I worry that there are people who are put in positions of authority because they're good talkers, but they don't have good ideas.
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The purpose of school should be to prepare kids for the rest of their lives, but too often what kids need to be prepared for is surviving the school day itself.
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In most job interviews, people say they are looking for people skills and emotional intelligence. That's reasonable, but the question is, how do you define what that looks like?
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There is no one more courageous than the person who speaks with the courage of his convictions.
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When you go to a football game and someone offers you a beer [...], they're really saying hi, have a glass of extroversion.
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...remember the dangers of the New Groupthink. If it's creativity you're after, ask your employees to solve problems alone before sharing their ideas. If you want the wisdom of the crowd, gather it electronically, or in writing, and make sure people can't see each other's ideas until everyone has had a chance to contribute.
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(Finland is a famously introverted nation. Finnish joke: How can you tell if a Finn likes you? He's staring at your shoes instead of his own.)
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Indeed, your biggest challenge may be to fully harness your strengths. You may be so busy trying to appear like a zestful, reward-sensitive extrovert that you undervalue your own talents, or feel underestimated by those around you. But when you’re focused on a project that you care about, you probably find that your energy is boundless.
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We know from myths and fairy tales that there are many different kinds of powers in this world. One child is given a light saber, another a wizard's education. The trick is not to amass all the different kinds of power, but to use well the kind you've been granted.
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Introverts living under the Extroversion Ideal are like women in a man's world, discounted because of a trait that goes to the core of who they are.
Susan Cain