School Grades Doesn't Mean Much

Parents put a lot of emphasis on their child’s grades. They somehow associate the grade with how successful the child will be at life. Whether or not the child passed English or Math or any other subject doesn’t determine how successful he’ll be in life.

Mark Zuckerberg, the creator of Facebook, is a college dropout… and he’s still done pretty good for himself.

“Success is peace of mind that is the direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming.”
-Jamison Wooden

The grade a child gets on a paper is not as important as the effort he put towards it. A child that did a A+ without working is not in a better position than the one who worked hard for his C. Later in life, it's the work ethic that will be the most valued. I worked with Grade A students as well as Grade C ones and I can't really tell the difference between the 2 but I can certainly tell who works harder than the other.

Knowledge and Communication

We all have all the knowledge in the world at our fingertips but it doesn't seem to make us any better people. I would argue that having this “power” has made us more arrogant than ever. We never seem to approach communication with a spirit of understanding but rather a spirit of “I know more than you - here let me show you”.

“All great victories in life begin with a victory over self.” -Orrin Woodward

Arrogance doesn't add value: It sucks out the life of a conversation. What, then, is require for us to become better conversationalists? To me, it is clear that simply having access to all the knowledge in the world isn't enough. We must also spend the time to learn about ourselves and how to interact with others. What's the point of knowing the distance between the Earth and the Moon when we can't share this information in a spirit of understanding?

One of the best communicator to ever live was Socrates. He communicated by asking questions to not only better understand the subject himself but also share his thoughts through this approach. What better way to gain understanding than to have the communication filled with questions on both sides? It does sound better than simply sharing facts doesn't it?

Let's be more like Socrates in our conversations.

The 6 Areas to Consider for True Success

“Success is peace of mind that is the direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming.”
-Jamison Wooden

Success means different things to different people but there are areas to consider in order to achieve true personal success. If one, of the following 6, areas is not part of the equation then it may be hindering your success potential.

• Financial: Obviously, there’s a financial part of true success. Anybody that wants to be successful has to master his finances. Being debt free is the first step.
• Health/Fitness: If you focus on all other areas but forget your health, you won't be able to enjoy the life that you've built. If you have health problems, it will be more difficult for you to focus on anything else.
• Relationship:Robert Putnam once said “Happiness is best predicted by the breadth and depth of one’s social connections.” If you gain all the success in the world but lost all of your relationship connections in the process then it will feel empty.
• Spiritual: I've touched this already here. Spirituality is finding your moral compass either by following a religion or by other means. It’s to have a general understanding of the universe and your place in it - to be at peace with it.
• Freedom: This is may be outside of your control. To be successful in anything, you must be in an environment that allows it. Success is easier achieved in a free Country than it would be in a Country that isn't free.
• Education: Success in life is a matter of education. It is easier to be successful in a Country that has a good education system than to be successful in one that doesn't allow it.

Do you have another area that you feel should be added here? Share in comments!

Revised on November 9, 2018.