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Why is everyone forcing me to get good grades and saying I won’t be successful otherwise?

A post of a ranting nature...

Runjie Chen

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This is really an issue I swear no one believes in other ways of succeeding other than getting good grades and I started doubting.


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MakeItHappen

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Well, you are now at the right place then.

All that matters is that you can provide value to other people. Grades are just an (inefficient) measurement in an ineffienct system to "prove" that you have learned certain skills of value.

Think about it. Let's say you have a little business and you want to get a website designed.
You have two webdesigners:
1. Highschool dropout
2. Straight A IT college graduate

The Highschool dropout has teached himself coding online and has a GREAT portfolio of websites he has designed before. The Straight A graduate as a portfolio of so-so looking websites.

Which ones of the two would you be more inclined to hire?

Of course don't drop out of school or college... just wanted to show a small example that shows that the most important thing by far is becoming good at providing value to people. ;)
 

lowtek

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How you do one thing is how you do everything.

If you slack off in school and don't pay attention to your grades, why should anyone believe you'll pay attention in business?
 

G-Man

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How you do one thing is how you do everything.

If you slack off in school and don't pay attention to your grades, why should anyone believe you'll pay attention in business?
Yeah not to dogpile here, but that's kinda the truth. It's true that doing well in school isn't the only path to success, but this is also an area where our own cognitive biases work against us, especially in young people.

For example, our own tendency to believe in our superiority to others often reframes laziness. Example: I'm too lazy to put in effort to my studies, but my narcissism reframes it to "Why aren't other people smart enough to see how pointless school is". And so on, and so on. There's a million ways our brains reframe reality to help us avoid confronting uncomfortable truths.

Suck it up. See it as an opportunity to develop the discipline to do unpleasant things on a consistent basis, which will serve you well your whole life.

EDIT: Also, welcome to the forum. Looking forward to watching you progress :)
 
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lewj24

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How you do one thing is how you do everything.

If you slack off in school and don't pay attention to your grades, why should anyone believe you'll pay attention in business?
Yeah not to dogpile here, but that's kinda the truth. It's true that doing well in school isn't the only path to success, but this is also an area where our own cognitive biases work against us, especially in young people.

For example, our own tendency to believe in our superiority to others often reframes laziness. Example: I'm too lazy to put in effort to my studies, but my narcissism reframes it to "Why aren't other people smart enough to see how pointless school is". And so on, and so on. There's a million ways our brains reframe reality to help us avoid confronting uncomfortable truths.

Suck it up. See it as an opportunity to develop the discipline to do unpleasant things on a consistent basis, which will serve you well your whole life.

EDIT: Also, welcome to the forum. Looking forward to watching you progress :)

I agree with the idea that if you slack off in one thing it can lead to slacking off in another thing, but I think you guys use it too often and with no regard of circumstances.

What if he was working so hard on a business that his grades slipped? This happened to a ton of famous entrepreneurs.

What if he quit his job to do something else? Is he now a quitter? After all, how you do one thing is how you do everything.

You could rephrase this situation like this: You stop focusing on things that don't matter in life (grades) and start focusing on things that do (your goals in life). If that's the one thing he does in his life that turns into everything he does, I think that's a great thing.

And if he's only doing it to gain discipline he could easily do something else that requires discipline but also aligns more with his goals.

This is really an issue I swear no one believes in other ways of succeeding other than getting good grades and I started doubting.

Are the people who tell you to get good grades successful in your opinion? If so maybe you should get good grades too. If not maybe you should ask them why they think this way? Are they unsuccessful because of their past bad grades?

It also depends on how you define success. If becoming a top doctor is your idea of success then you better get good grades.
 

Isaac Oh

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How you do one thing is how you do everything.

If you slack off in school and don't pay attention to your grades, why should anyone believe you'll pay attention in business?
Or on another line, if you're stuck in what you consider a shitty situation and won't take the initiative to change your own circumstances, why should I believe you'll find the initiative within you to help me out when you won't even help yourself?
 

PizzaOnTheRoof

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I agree with the idea that if you slack off in one thing it can lead to slacking off in another thing, but I think you guys use it too often and with no regard of circumstances.

What if he was working so hard on a business that his grades slipped? This happened to a ton of famous entrepreneurs.

What if he quit his job to do something else? Is he now a quitter? After all, how you do one thing is how you do everything.

You could rephrase this situation like this: You stop focusing on things that don't matter in life (grades) and start focusing on things that do (your goals in life). If that's the one thing he does in his life that turns into everything he does, I think that's a great thing.

And if he's only doing it to gain discipline he could easily do something else that requires discipline but also aligns more with his goals.



Are the people who tell you to get good grades successful in your opinion? If so maybe you should get good grades too. If not maybe you should ask them why they think this way? Are they unsuccessful because of their past bad grades?

It also depends on how you define success. If becoming a top doctor is your idea of success then you better get good grades.
Thanks for being a voice of reason here cause I’m in the same boat.
 
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ZF Lee

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This is really an issue I swear no one believes in other ways of succeeding other than getting good grades and I started doubting.


Enviado desde mi iPhone utilizando Tapatalk
School education is the bare minimum of knowledge and experience.

It is just the beginning, not the middle, nor the end.

You have to start from somewhere.

Before knowing how to write copy and sales letters, you need to learn proper grammar, expression and language.

Before knowing accounting and finance, you need to understand math.

Sure, you can learn stuff on your own. But many times, to even self-learn, you have to rely on conventional sources to get your basics.

And note that a better question to ask might be 'How do I score? How do I learn?'

Do I:

A) Read the stuff several times, think about it, research on it, leave no doubts to chance, ask your elders, make trips and practice the knowledge

Or

B) Shove all the stuff in your brain and hope that the exam has questions that you can regurgitate it all out

Most kids prefer Option B as it seems 'easier' to get the results, but later on in university, when they sit for their finals, they won't make it. Instead of one book to read, they'll have 200 slides and 400 pages-thick books to read.

It's not about grades. It's about what you DID to get them. Process.

EDIT: And from your post, it implies that you feel pressured by the people around you to succeed at your studies.

It is a blessing. It shows that people do believe you can do well, and you must have shown them something they can trust in.

I have friends who were basically left in the back of the class like dogs. They have wasted the last few years degree-hoppin and scrapping one odd job to another.

Cherish the attention of the people who value you, and work hard to not disappoint them. And if those people consist of your teachers, do honour their efforts with a decent grade.
 
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The Abundant Man

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DistressedDenim

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If you decide to put minimal effort into school, you need to put the leftover effort into something else that's meaningful.

It would be a douchebag move to let the authorities down by ignoring your grades and playing Fortnite or whatever.

If you mess around in school but constantly work on your business, skill, or wahtever instead, they'll eventually accept the fact that you're trying to do something more important than school.
 

SquatchMan

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I agree with the idea that if you slack off in one thing it can lead to slacking off in another thing, but I think you guys use it too often and with no regard of circumstances.

What if he was working so hard on a business that his grades slipped? This happened to a ton of famous entrepreneurs.

What if he quit his job to do something else? Is he now a quitter? After all, how you do one thing is how you do everything.

You could rephrase this situation like this: You stop focusing on things that don't matter in life (grades) and start focusing on things that do (your goals in life). If that's the one thing he does in his life that turns into everything he does, I think that's a great thing.

And if he's only doing it to gain discipline he could easily do something else that requires discipline but also aligns more with his goals.



Are the people who tell you to get good grades successful in your opinion? If so maybe you should get good grades too. If not maybe you should ask them why they think this way? Are they unsuccessful because of their past bad grades?

It also depends on how you define success. If becoming a top doctor is your idea of success then you better get good grades.

Oh we know the exceptions to the rule (Gates, Zuckerberg, Branson, etc.).

Unfortunately, the exceptions don't make the rule. Most people are getting bad grades because they're replacing study time with Fortnite or some other time sink that isn't moving them closer to their goal.

If they were moving closer to their goal, then they would have the internal drive to succeed and wouldn't need external validation from the forum. Plus, he would probably mention it in his post.

Perhaps OP is the exception, but I wouldn't count on it.
 

Runjie Chen

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After reading all the different replies I have to say that I play 0 fortnite, I watch 0 TV and no distractions.
Just improving my skills and knowledge, but I will still fail because of my grades...
 
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Healthfulness

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Just my 2 cents here. If You can't get decent grades in school, entrepreunership won't be easy for You. School and university is so much easier than any kind of business. If You can't learn what's neccessary to get good grades, then either You're lazy or Your learning proccess is very wrong. School is not the way to success and freedom, but if You can't handle that, then business world will be no easier as You will have to learn a lot, You can't slack off, there's responsibilities and deadlines.
If You're working on great project and You really don't have time to focus on school, then It's fine, otherwise, get back to studies!
I've seen plenty of people saying: "School is crap, just brainwashing You into getting slave's job." Now they work slave's job because they have nor the discipline nor the knowledge to actually become successful entrepreuner.
 

Eric10x10

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Just my 2 cents here. If You can't get decent grades in school, entrepreunership won't be easy for You. School and university is so much easier than any kind of business. If You can't learn what's neccessary to get good grades, then either You're lazy or Your learning proccess is very wrong. School is not the way to success and freedom, but if You can't handle that, then business world will be no easier as You will have to learn a lot, You can't slack off, there's responsibilities and deadlines.
If You're working on great project and You really don't have time to focus on school, then It's fine, otherwise, get back to studies!
I've seen plenty of people saying: "School is crap, just brainwashing You into getting slave's job." Now they work slave's job because they have nor the discipline nor the knowledge to actually become successful entrepreuner.

Beautifully said!
 

MaxKhalus

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Well, it's all about goals.

What make you think that performing worse in school will make it more difficult in bussiness? It is not about skills nor capacity, but purpose. When you think something is meaninless to be put in the effort, then you wont, regardless your talents or advantages.

Unfortunately, I cannot give you a proper solution to the topic as I have not solve it yet (yes, I'm in the boat too). Where I do focus myself is only in my bussiness from the very beginning. Once you can manage it or have more free time, you could study, or start more bussinesses.

How much money do you have? Do you depend on your parents? Those questions usually define your liberty, also known as your chance to be successful. It's about having control.
 
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ZF Lee

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After reading all the different replies I have to say that I play 0 fortnite, I watch 0 TV and no distractions.
Just improving my skills and knowledge, but I will still fail because of my grades...
Are studies really draining you of time to do business stuff?

What are you studying? College? High school?

I think its fine to not excel at all the subjects. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses.

For me, back in high school, I excelled in a lot of humanities, languages and basic math, but struggled with the sciences and additional math. I tooled up my grades for the STEM subjects bit by bit, exam by exam, while keeping my strong subjects at steady grade levels.

From one semester to another, my STEM subjects picked up from a C/D average to a B, and then for the finals, As.

Same went for my pre-university studies.

My recent university grades was a 2.8-ish, but that's fine because it consisted of a lot of core units that I wouldn't need next semester for my majors. And I passed all subjects. I can pick it up next time, if I want to.

TLDR:
1. Look at which subjects you are strong/weak in

2. Tool up the weak subjects to a decent grade. It can be as simple as a C or as good as an A-. Up to you. Just don't fail them.

Each of your subjects are limited to a certain syllabus. You aren't expected to re-invent the wheel, as conventional education is tailored to produce predictable employees. Of course, that means the syllabus will be predictable.

Here's something to help you learn:
GOLD! - A physicist's guide to learning hard things

3. Maintain your strong subjects, but it would be good to ensure that each of them has some potential marketable value.

For a side story, I actually took Art as a formal academic subject in school.

Hard work. Lots of planning, sketching prototypes for a sculpture model, measuring and dusty work. We didn't use plaster of paris or wood, but sponge-rubbed the edges with sandpaper into the form we wanted and glued them together.

I saw much of my girl there in art class. She was more crazy than I was! She created an entire electrical theme park model, with actual working lights and all.

That's one of the reasons I fell in love with my girl. The works of her hands were absolutely fantastic.

The project management and design skills can translate into high-demand stuff, which last I saw on
Upwork could fetch about a hundred bucks an hour.

4. If you can drop some subjects in favour of strengthening the weaker ones, do it. I actually dropped physics for economics in my pre-university studies. Weird choice, but I saw that physics would eat my time massively. On a plus side, I could learn more about demand and supply, current account deficits and macro- which popped up later again in my business course.

5. Plan some time for side projects for business. Depending on the project, it might be 4, or 5.
 

ZCP

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After reading all the different replies I have to say that I play 0 fortnite, I watch 0 TV and no distractions.
Just improving my skills and knowledge, but I will still fail because of my grades...
Why are you failing? Lack of effort? Lack of ability? Lack of focus? Doing something else with the time?

What country? What level of school? What is your support system?

Flip it for a minute ...... how does getting good grades prevent you from succeeding??
 

lewj24

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Oh we know the exceptions to the rule (Gates, Zuckerberg, Branson, etc.).

Unfortunately, the exceptions don't make the rule. Most people are getting bad grades because they're replacing study time with Fortnite or some other time sink that isn't moving them closer to their goal.

If they were moving closer to their goal, then they would have the internal drive to succeed and wouldn't need external validation from the forum. Plus, he would probably mention it in his post.

Perhaps OP is the exception, but I wouldn't count on it.

I hate this whole post.

Especially that last sentence. Such a negative, unhelpful remark that has nothing to prove or disprove it.

Isn't just being on this forum, and striving for the fastlane, the exception to the rule?
 
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Roli

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How you do one thing is how you do everything.

If you slack off in school and don't pay attention to your grades, why should anyone believe you'll pay attention in business?

Boom! Shake, shake, shake the room!
 

ZF Lee

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I hate this whole post.

Especially that last sentence. Such a negative, unhelpful remark that has nothing to prove or disprove it.

Isn't just being on this forum, and striving for the fastlane, the exception to the rule?
Yes, this post is indeed sad. But realistic.

Indeed, most of the folks that come here are the exception to the rule in the sense that they have to take the time to learn new stuff and meet new Fastlaners. Not many would dare to do that, though.

The important thing now is for OP to not to be too hateful towards studies in general and to re-focus the energy used for hating towards something that moves him closer to his goals. And that might involve replacing the gap with something better than Fortnite or other distractions.
 

SamuraiRod

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Yes, this post is indeed sad. But realistic.

Indeed, most of the folks that come here are the exception to the rule in the sense that they have to take the time to learn new stuff and meet new Fastlaners. Not many would dare to do that, though.

The important thing now is for OP to not to be too hateful towards studies in general and to re-focus the energy used for hating towards something that moves him closer to his goals. And that might involve replacing the gap with something better than Fortnite or other distractions.

That's very good advice, and something I've come to realize myself. I got a 1.9 GPA this semester. This was partially due to focus on my own endeavors, but also due to bad distractions stemming from my dislike of schoolwork (Fornite, for example). I also managed to clear 2 interviews with local companies for internships, get close to a semi-retired entrepreneur, and begin building my own side business.

The more I teach myself, the more I realize that school isn't half bad. Though it is very expensive, I leverage the name of my University to get my foot in the door at many places. And from that, I gain valuable connections that will help me in my future endeavors.

My goal for next semester is, like you said, re-focus my energy into my success. Which involves doing good in school.
 
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