School vs. The Real World: The Hard Truth

I enjoyed school.

Definitely don't want to go back and repeat it all but it was fun.

Got 90%+ in grades 9 and 10 and then for the rest of high school I coasted and got 80%+ without much work.

Some of the high school years were a little strange, trying to figure out who I was.

In grade 11 when I got my license and my Ford Thunderbird I was definitely having some good fun.

I bought light covers for that Thunderbird, "invested" in very loud sound systems so I could play John Secada as loud as I wanted and bought a "bra" for the car so I could protect it from tiny stone chips.

Looking back I must have looked really cool driving that thing.  LOL!!

I'll never forget that John Secada song, "I ... I ... I!!!!!!  I can't resist ... trying to find exactly what I missed ... just another day without you!!  I ... I ... I!!!!! "  (click here to get the YouTube video of the song an re-live it all)

Even grade school was fun.  I went to Sts. Martha & Mary in Mississauga.

My friends and I thought we went to the best grade school in the whole city.

We didn't have any good reasons to justify that but we were 100% convinced.

To this day if you find anyone who was born in 1973 and who went there, ask them about Sts. Martha & Mary they will confirm what I'm saying.  🙂

Let's go M & M!!

Good times.

I remember in grade 4 there was going to be a brawl after school.  You had to tell the grade 8 kids if you liked "punk" or "rock" and then you had to fight for your choice.

The brawl never happened but I recall being slightly alarmed.

I'm pretty sure my grade 4 teacher smoked at her desk in our portable and had an ash tray in her top drawer.

Who knows if that's actually true, but that's how I recall it.

Wow, the more I recall the more it seems hilarious.

Anyhoo...

We do have a point to make here.

After investing in real estate and getting a sales job and working for large companies and then for ourselves...

...and then helping other people invest in real estate.

It seems to us that we may have uncovered a problem.

And we can't take full credit for this ... we definitely read it somewhere by somebody.  Maybe in a slightly different context but the idea is the same.  It may have been Robert Kiyosaki or Michael Masterson or even Dan Kennedy who first said.  We're 100% not sure.

Here's the problem with school as we see it...

In school you are told you're going to have a test.

Then you get to study and prepare and learn for the test.

But that's not how it works in the real world.

In the real world some sort of "test" happens and then you look back after the test and try to learn from it.

It's totally reversed.

School vs. the Real World is completely backwards.

100% opposite.

Maybe we should just surprise kids with no advance warning, nothing.

Just, "Good morning class, today we're having the worst test ever ... it's brutal, you may even cry after it ... or at least want to ... and you only have one chance at it ... it must be completed in 20 minutes even though you'll likely really need an hour ... all marks are final and your future will be affected by this test permanently.  We're going to announce your results over the P.A. system tomorrow morning so everyone knows how you did.  Ready, great, time starts now!!!"

And then after the test we would say this...

"Oh yeah, and we're going to do this again test again soon, but we don't know when so just be on high alert at all times.  It won't be exactly the same but some questions will.  If you make the same mistakes next time as this time you'll be letting yourself down so don't do it.  Isn't life awesome everyone!!"

LOL, oh my, that was fun to type out.

Basically they would get used to dealing with unexpected curve balls.

Just like real life!!

Isn't this brilliant?

We'll just shock them once a week or so.

They would just have to deal with it.

My kids are in grade 2 and grade 6 right now.

I'm going to lobby to give them this sort of shock treatment.

Can you image the opposition from all the parents?  Just that alone would make it fun to propose.

I guess I'm now a trouble maker.

But seriously, I say Canada would be better for it.

We can't tell you how many people we meet just roll over and give up at the first sign of adversity.

It's an astonishing percentage.

What we've learned over the years is that when you're put in difficult situations you may not enjoy them but it's during those moments that you learn a lot about yourself.

You learn you'll live to fight another day.

You gain confidence in yourself when you battle through.

And that confidence leads to a healthy self-image.

And that self-image gives you the freedom to go out and do amazing things.

Well, we're not exactly sure if that's how it would work but it sounds great doesn't it!?!?

Here's what we do know with certainty...

The real world does throw you tests with no preparation.

We expect that now.

It's part of the game.

They don't freak us out.  We actually now look at them as moments of opportunity.

A time to re-evaluate our path, verify our assumptions, re-check our strategies.

Difficult moments in both of our lives have served as the most motivating catalysts to make changes in our lives.

It's what got me to invest in real estate at 26.

It's what got Nick to flip his first property at the age of 21.

It's what got both of us to quit our jobs and start Rock Star.

We're still battling all sorts of unannounced "tests" all the time.

A billionaire we heard interviewed once said that handling stress was his competitive advantage.

We like that line of thinking ... it seems like a good life skill.

Run to the stress ... not away from it.

Can we get a big cheer for "more pop quizzes" at school!!

I'm sure our kids will hate it, but who knows, they may be better off long-term for it!

Until next time ... Your Life! Your Terms!