Most things are difficult at the beginning and they become fun, something you love, only after you've worked at them. Amy Chua More Quotes by Amy Chua More Quotes From Amy Chua Everything I've ever done that's valuable is something I was afraid to try. Amy Chua valuable done trying What Chinese parents understand is that nothing is fun until you're good at it. pg 29 Amy Chua chinese parent fun Happiness is not always through success. Equally, the constant pursuit of success is sure unhappiness. But we have to find the balance. My own thoughts are that parenting is very personal. And we all feel enormous insecurity about parenting. What are they going to think of us 20 years down the line? Amy Chua insecurity years thinking When my kids wanted to give up on things, I wouldn't let them, and those are lifelong lessons. Amy Chua giving-up lessons kids A lot of parents today are terrified that something they say to their children might make them 'feel bad.' But, hey, if they've done something wrong, they should feel bad. Kids with a sense of responsibility, not entitlement, who know when to experience gratitude and humility, will be better at navigating the social shoals of college. Amy Chua gratitude kids children Questioning authority is, I think, a great thing to instill in children. I just didn't have enough of that when I was little. Amy Chua littles children thinking I'm a slave to my dogs and go out with them almost every day. They are poorly behaved if they don't run. They really act up. Amy Chua slave dog running Everything I do as a mother builds on a foundation of love and compassion. Amy Chua foundation compassion mother Both of my girls have very high self-esteem because they were both able to master certain things; I should think that's good for their confidence. Amy Chua girl self-esteem thinking The Romans thought of themselves as the chosen people, yet they built the greatest army on Earth by recruiting warriors from any background. Amy Chua warrior army people I was raised, myself, by extremely strict but also extremely loving Chinese immigrant parents. To this day, I believe that their having high expectations for me, coupled with love, was the greatest gift that anyone's ever given me. And so that's why, even though my husband is not Chinese, I try to raise my own two daughters the same way. Amy Chua daughter husband mother I sort of feel like people are not that honest about their own parenting. Take any teenage household; tell me there is not yelling and conflict. Amy Chua yelling teenage people I do think that maybe, even subconsciously, a lot of parents in the West are wondering, have we gone too far in the direction of coddling and protecting - you know, you see kids, sometimes that seem very rude and disrespectful. And the more important thing is they don't seem that happy. Amy Chua rude kids thinking I see my upbringing as a great success story. By disciplining me, my parents inculcated self-discipline. And by restricting my choices as a child, they gave me so many choices in my life as an adult. Because of what they did then, I get to do the work I love now. Amy Chua discipline self children Oddly enough, I'm not a particularly judgmental person. I just don't have a lot of filtering when I'm in 'tiger mother' mode. I say what comes into my head. Amy Chua judgmental enough mother My dogs can't do anything--and what a relief. I don't make any demands of them, and I don't try to shape them or their future. For the most part, I trust them to make the right choices for themselves. I always look forward to seeing them, and I love just watching them sleep. What a great relationship. Amy Chua choices dog sleep As a purely mathematical fact, people who sleep less live more. Amy Chua sleep facts people There are all kinds of psychological disorders in the West that don't exist in Asia. Amy Chua psychological-disorders asia west You know, parenting is so personal. And we're all afraid that we didn't quite get it right. And it feels like the stakes are so high. By we - what if we made a mistake? Amy Chua what-if made mistake You can't invent Google, Facebook or the iPod unless you've mastered the basics, are willing to put in long hours and can pick yourself up from the floor when life knocks you down the first 10 times. Amy Chua life-knocks-you-down ipods long