Inspiration

IGNORE THAT GRADE – IGNITE WITH SUCCESSBAYO #21

academic grade“Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.” – Winston Churchill

Hello friends, I welcome you to another session of IGNITE SERIES. Welcome to May, a month of all round possibilities.

Today’s topic is IGNORE THAT GRADE. This post is as a result of a conversation I had with a protégé some days back and he was asking me for some advice on how to start up a business consulting firm, after rubbing minds together, he then said that hope the fact that he finished with a 3rd class will not affect him???. I replied with an aggressive NO, IT CAN NEVER AFFECT YOU. I then realized that some persons are yet to forgive themselves after graduating with low grades from school and most people exhibit low self-esteem as a result of this.

I was able to relate this to many youth of today. The truth is that no matter how remorseful you feel about the things you did or did not do in the past, you can never turn back the hands of time. You can never have the opportunity of going back to the past to correct your mistakes. However, inasmuch as I believe that our mistakes of yesterday could be responsible for what is happening to our career today, I strongly believe that you can fashion your today with the materials left. President George W. Bush made an insightful point while delivering the commencement address at Southern Methodist University, he said To those of you who are graduating this afternoon with high honors, awards and distinctions, I say, Well done and as I like to tell the C students; You too can be president.

Bush was making fun of himself for earning average grades in college. He was basically highlighting the fact that grades don’t dictate the rest of your existence, and life is full of limitless possibilities. There are other presidents that did poorly in school at one point or another, they include; John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson and Bush’s father, George H.W. Bush. Vice President Joe Biden also struggled with his grades as both an undergraduate and a law student. Goodluck Jonathan and President Buhari were not also the best in their class. Academic qualification doesn’t determine your ultimate destination, it is just a proof of your past academic history. So if you just graduated from school and you didn’t finish with first class or second class, don’t despair. Life is full of ups and downs, and while we learn a great deal in school, the real education occurs after you leave the classroom.

In University, it’s all about grades. In the real world, it’s about experience, and result. Because once you get past the first job, no one is ever going to ask you about your GPA or how you did in that Chem 512 final. What matters in the real world is your ability to adapt, innovate and get along. There are no theory or objective exams. If a GPA means anything, it’s what you were in that moment — and it so does not define you for the rest of your life.

The greatest thinkers, leaders and entrepreneurs of our time have been the men to defy the rules and take risks. They were the ones getting C’s or flunking out. However, their “failures’ were not a factor of intelligence, but an inability to be weighed down by grades and superficial markings. Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, Elizabeth Holmes and Richard Branson, are just a few of the men and women who achieved unfathomable amounts of wealth, status and success without ever really succeeding in a classroom. They are the men that by society’s standards, had failed. With their passion and intelligence, they were able to change the world with nothing more than a bachelor’s degree and a transcript of failing grades (sometimes not graduating at all). These men understood at an early age that just because society, and everyone around them, placed an excessive amount of importance on grades didn’t mean they were right. (Elitedaily.com).

Most at times, those who even do well in school end up not utilizing their course of study as their lifelong career. What an irony of life, so why do you weigh yourself down when your failure might just be a reflector that that career line is not meant for you. The greatest misery that can befall a man is to do effectively well, what he is not meant to do at all. Mrs. Ibukun Awosika graduated with a BSc. in Chemistry from the University of Ife (now OAU). But now she is he is the Founder and Chairperson of The Chair Centre Ltd, a market leader in the office furniture and banking security systems industries. She is even the current chairman of First Bank.

The only limit placed on a man’s life is a self-placed limit. Click To Tweet

We all make mistakes; but what defines our career is not the mistakes we made but what we do with the mistakes.

Intelligence is subjective, and academic achievement is not always a proper way to measure it. Success as a student is largely dependent on one’s ability to operate within a certain system, but it’s not always the best preparation for the real world. A person’s character, experiences and connections, not grades, ultimately determine their direction in life.

And note: This post is not a substitute for academic slothfulness. Never stop learning, never give up and remember to enjoy the ride along the way.

Whatever your hand findeth to do, do it with all thy might Click To Tweet

Have a blessed week.

From your Coach.

Adebayo @successbayo

Adebayo.ajayi@yahoo.com

Divine Intervention in Academic Studies – A Christian Guide to Academic Success

IGNITE WITH SUCCESSBAYO #16 – Academic Development

To read all other posts in the Ignite series,[wp-svg-icons icon=”point-right” wrap=”i”]  CLICK HERE

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Tolulope Oludapo is a young Christian who lends his voice through the media by sharing practical wisdom for everyday living in the most experiential and simplified fashion. This has fetched him the direct followership of over 30,000 users on his blog, lifegiva.com. A blog he founded. He loves to write on varying subjects that affect life, faith, relationship...everyday living.
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