Time magazine journalist Charlotte Alter interviewed nine highly successful families to search for "winning" commonalities. The children had notable achievements as adults, and none as the result of great wealth or luck but through their own efforts.
Alter spoke to the parents and their children and came up with six qualities the families shared.
Remarkably, most of the families included at least one parent who was an immigrant and/or a teacher.
Almost all the children recalled being given great freedom by parents, feeling highly competitive with brothers and sisters, and having at least one direct experience of death or violence growing up.
The six factors:
1. Grit
The parents recalled having to fight for what they achieved, and expected no less from their children. Many struggled against the odds, raising children in tough neighbourhoods.
2.Self-belief
The parents all held clear beliefs and values and were unafraid to stand up for them, even at considerable risk.
3. No limits
The parents assumed that they - and their children - could succeed at anything they chose. They encouraged them to better themselves and allowed them to compete within the family. They also held the belief that, whatever the odds, change was always possible.
4. Trust
The parents believed their children could discover for themselves their talents. Their role was to allow their children to discover what success meant for each of them.
5. Empowerment
Parents of successful children encouraged their children to do things for themselves.
6. Early education
A huge amount of time and effort was invested early on, particularly during pre-school years. They all became literate and articulate at an early age.
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