Barking Up The Wrong Tree

Barking Up The Wrong Tree turns standard success advice on its head by looking at both sides of many common arguments, like confidence, extroversion, or being nice, concluding it’s really other factors that decide if we win, and we control more of them than we think.

Most people envy the guy or gal at high school graduation, who gets to give the commencement speech. These people, usually top of their year, are called valedictorians, and most of their fellow students expect them to do well for themselves later on. In reality, that’s rarely the case.

Eric cites a study by Boston College, which tracked 81 valedictorians after their graduation in 1981. 15 years later, they worked hard and learned a lot, but not a single one changed the world in earth-shattering ways. Contrast that with the surprisingly large number of college dropouts on the Forbes 400 list, and an idea starts to emerge: maybe being good in school doesn’t matter so much, after all.

Eric would certainly agree, as performing well on any kind of standardized test, whether it’s in high school, college, a job interview, or elsewhere, only proves one thing: you’re good at following rules. Our education system turns people into excellent sheep, not excellent thinkers.

So, what do you need to succeed in the real world, then? Barker says it’s a mix of creativity, passion, obsession, vision, and commitment. Life is messy, so above all, you need a lot of perseverance to see your goals through.

Besides grades, the introvert vs. extrovert debate is a huge topic when it comes to personal success. Some argue that “your network is your net worth,” while others celebrate introverts’ capacities for single-tasking. So which one is it? As always, the answer is not so black and white.

Both introversion and extroversion have something going for themselves. Extroverts make, on average, slightly more money. For example, people who occasionally go for a drink earn up to 14% more. If you enjoy people’s company, you’ll naturally form more relationships, find friends more easily, and will end up with a better network.

Introverts, on the other hand, are more likely to become an expert in their field. Why? Since they spend more time in private, it’s easier for them to put in the hours they need to develop deep domain expertise. This holds true even for more ‘extroverted’ activities, such as sports. 89% of top athletes are introverts.

Once again, what matters isn’t what’s better, but that you know who you are, so you can act accordingly.