The Formula

Unlocking the Secrets to Raising Highly Successful Children

By: Ronald F. Ferguson, Tatsha Robertson

Narrated by: Cynthia Farrell

Length: 10 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's Summary

We all want our children to reach their fullest potential - to be smart and well adjusted, and to make a difference in the world. We wonder why, for some people, success seems to come so naturally.

Could the secret be how they were parented?

This book unveils how parenting helped shape some of the most fascinating people you will ever encounter, by doing things that almost any parent can do. You don't have to be wealthy or influential to ensure your child reaches their greatest potential. What you do need is commitment - and the strategies outlined in this book.

In The Formula: Unlocking the Secrets to Raising Highly Successful Children, Harvard economist Ronald Ferguson, named in a New York Times profile as the foremost expert on the US educational "achievement gap," along with award-winning journalist Tatsha Robertson, reveal an intriguing blueprint for helping children from all types of backgrounds become successful adults.

Informed by hundreds of interviews, the book includes never-before-published insights from the "How I was Parented Project" at Harvard University, which draws on the varying life experiences of 120 Harvard students. Ferguson and Robertson have isolated a pattern with eight roles of the "Master Parent" that make up the Formula: the Early Learning Partner, the Flight Engineer, the Fixer, the Revealer, the Philosopher, the Model, the Negotiator, and the GPS Navigational Voice.

The Formula combines the latest scientific research on child development, learning, and brain growth and illustrates with life stories of extraordinary individuals - from the Harvard-educated Ghanian entrepreneur who, as the young child of a rural doctor, was welcomed in his father's secretive late-night political meetings; to the nation's youngest state-wide elected official, whose hardworking father taught him math and science during grueling days on the family farm in Kentucky; to the DREAMer immigration lawyer whose low-wage mother pawned her wedding ring to buy her academically outstanding child a special flute.

The Formula reveals strategies on how you - regardless of race, class, or background - can help your children become the best they can be and shows ways to maximize their chances for happy and purposeful lives.

©2019 Ronald F. Ferguson and Tatsha Robertson (P)2019 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved, published by arrangement with BenBella Books.

would recommend

the folks out there saying this book is only for those interested on Harvard clearly didnt absorb the theory. these sorts of books are never, what I would consider, an "easy" read, however, they did try to keep the reader engaged. I was convinced, and am fully onboard with the formula, I hope it works for me and my little one.

I want to tell all the parents i know about this book

Its very inspiring! Motivates you to do so much more for your kids! I just cant say enough good things about this book! I couldn’t wait to listen to it every time i stopped! Its very informative and I’ve learned a-lot. I love all the different examples. Very good book every parent should listen!

annoying voice

the reader does these super annoying voices to try to show different people are speaking. this got SO annoying I could barely stomach listening and getting the main points. I absolutely hated the performance.

wonderful considerations to navigate development

this is great structure for considerations in navigating children's development. many of the lessons in this book have direct applicability to our family. While The book is not exhaustive and may not apply to every situation being more geared towards the data from high achieving students rather than those that struggle, the patterns the focus and the mental models are universally applicable. The conclusion of the book pulls it all together by focusing on the children's strength to help boost their capabilities in life, and still confidence, and maximize results. I highly recommend this book in your personal library for child development.

written from huge privilege

The roles this book proposes for parents to take are great and make sense. but the book focuses on gifted and talented, unprivileged children, so it is not the majority of the cases. The study made to support this book looks really slanted and lacks a critical approach. I do not recommend this book.

Narration is horrible and distracting

The narrator's unnecessary need to try and change her voice for every person quoted in the book is unbelievably distracting and annoying. The material is wonderful, but this is not a Science Fiction novel, just read the book and stop trying to sound like a homeless inner city mother or Coutry Farm boy!

Great book!

Great content with relatable stories! Good concepts that can easily be applied in child raising.

Worthy listen

I enjoyed the stories. Would be great if there was a bulletpoint list to reference.

terrible "male" voice

great book, decent reading except when she read the male voices - she sounds like a constipated person who had something go down the wrong pipe. it's so distracting I had to stop listening and just read the book myself.

Timeless and perfect

This is a book that I will keep and will buy a physical copy as well. I listen to this alone now going to listen to it with my husband. Listened to certain portions with our son & daughter. The author is really touched upon a number of different life experiences and different roads that could have led to not so positive futures. All of these parents excelled in the way they taught their children I highly recommend this book for any parent that is looking to raise their child to be balanced and successful.

very much enjoyed this.

i really enjoyed listening to this. it looks at high achievers from all backgrounds and all thier techniques. very informative.