Book cover for Limitless Mind: Learn, Lead, and Live Without Barriers by Jo Boaler

Limitless Mind

Learn, Lead, and Live Without Barriers

2019 Released
304 Pages
4-5 Hours
★ 4.13 2,205 ratings
HarperOneISBN 9780062851772

“Boaler is one of those rare and remarkable educators who not only know the secret of great teaching but also know how to give that gift to others.”  — CAROL DWECK, author of Mindset

“Jo Boaler is one of the most creative and innovative educators today. Limitless Mind marries cutting-edge brain science with her experience in the classroom, not only proving that each of us has limitless potential but offering strategies for how we can achieve it.”  — LAURENE POWELL JOBS

“A courageous freethinker with fresh ideas on learning.”  — BOOKLIST

In this revolutionary book, a professor of education at Stanford University and acclaimed math educator who has spent decades studying the impact of beliefs and bias on education, reveals the six keys to unlocking learning potential and cultivating a growth mindset, based on the latest scientific findings.

From the moment we enter school as children, we are made to feel as if our brains are fixed entities, capable of learning certain things and not others, influenced exclusively by genetics. This notion of a fixed mindset follows us into adulthood, where we tend to simply accept these established beliefs about our skillsets (i.e. that we don’t have “a math brain” or that we aren’t “the creative type”). These damaging—and as new science has revealed, false—assumptions have influenced all of us at some time, affecting our confidence and willingness to try new things and limiting our choices, and, ultimately, our futures.

Stanford University professor, bestselling author, and acclaimed educator Jo Boaler has spent decades studying the impact of beliefs and bias on education. In Limitless Mind, she explodes these myths and reveals the six keys to unlocking our boundless learning potential. Her research proves that those who achieve at the highest levels do not do so because of a genetic inclination toward any one skill but because of the keys that she reveals in the book. Our brains are not “fixed,” but thanks to the science of neuroplasticity, are entirely capable of change, growth, adaptability, and rewiring. Want to be fluent in mathematics? Learn a foreign language? Play the guitar? Write a book? The truth is not only that anyone at any age can learn anything, but the act of learning itself fundamentally changes who we are, and as Boaler argues so elegantly in the pages of this book, what we go on to achieve.

How can you break free from a fixed mindset and embrace your own limitless potential?

  • The Six Keys to Learning: Uncover the six evidence-based principles that form the foundation for unlocking your true learning potential at any age.
  • The Power of Mistakes: Learn why struggle and errors aren’t signs of failure but are actually the most crucial moments for brain growth and strengthening neural pathways.
  • A Multidimensional Approach: Move beyond one-dimensional memorization with creative and flexible strategies that foster deep, lasting understanding in any subject.
  • Actionable Strategies: Put the latest brain science into practice with practical techniques to overcome self-doubt, challenge false assumptions, and fundamentally change who you are.

Jo Boaler

Dr. Jo Boaler is the Nomellini Olivier Professor of Education at Stanford University. Previously she has served as the Marie Curie Professor of Mathematics Education in England and a maths teacher in London comprehensive schools. Her PhD won the national award for educational research in the UK. She is an elected fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (Great Britain), and a former president of the International Organization for Women and Mathematics Education (IOWME). She is the recipient of a National Science Foundation Early Career Award, the NCSM Kay Gilliland Equity Award (2014) and the CMC Walter Denham Mathematics Leadership award (2015). She is an elected fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (fRSA) and a White House presenter on women and girls. She co-founded www.youcubed.org, a free website that gives teachers, parents and students the resources and ideas they need to inspire and excite students about mathematics. She is the author of 20 books and numerous research articles; her work has been published in the New York Times, TIME magazine, The Telegraph, The Atlantic, The Wall Street Journal and many other news outlets. She was one of the writing team for the 2023 California Mathematics Framework, is co-leading a K-12 Data Science Initiative, and was named as one of the 8 educators “changing the face of education” by the BBC.

More by Jo Boaler

Why Readwise Books?

Readwise Books is an ebook & audiobook platform that automatically logs how much you and your friends read, making it fun and easy to read more. Learn more →