All Selling Aside With Alex Mandossian

Have you heard of the marshmallow experiment? Even if you have, pay close attention and see if you can spot some distinctions. Years ago, a large group of 4-year-olds was led into a room that looked like a classroom. One wall had a one-way mirror that allowed researchers to watch the children. Each child had a marshmallow put in front of him or her, and was given simple instructions by a researcher: feel free to eat the marshmallow now, or wait to eat it until after the researcher’s return and receive a second marshmallow. Then the researcher left the room. About a third of the kids immediately ate the marshmallow. Another third of the kids held out for a few minutes before succumbing to temptation and eating the marshmallow. The final third of the kids managed to wait the 15-20 minutes until the researcher returned. These kids received a second marshmallow. Fourteen years later, researchers tracked down the now-18-year-olds. The ones who had waited to eat the marshmallow until the researcher returned scored