Formula to Success

This is what parents hammer into the minds of their children when they are growing up.

But with today’s unconventional ways of living, people do not really rely on having good education to have that dream job to be able to have some form of purchasing power.

A lot of the parents now are probably a product of this kind of philosophy which they got from their parents. I am sure this line of thinking is what exactly they are telling their children who go to school.

Sure, it is a comforting thought to have a solid educational background to up the resume. Who wouldn’t want to hire someone with an MA or MBA or PhD? Who wouldn’t want to hire someone whose GPA is somewhere near 4.0? More often than not, these people are highly qualified to apply to a job that would need their expertise. But are they up to the challenge to maintain that status they so want to achieve?

There is NG. He is currently having his second (?) MA degree. He studied hard, got good grades and found a job. Another job, another job. He never seem content and he doesn’t look successful. In fact, he is dissatisfied is and proverbially looking for the right opportunity. As what should happen when that formula has been achieved.

There is JM. He finished college. He was able to work with a multinational company, traveling all over the world. When he was about to be promoted, he refused a top spot that will make him even more successful. He declined and resigned to put up his own company. Though the company has had more downs than ups, still, he persevered or rather is persevering to make his mark in the fast-paced and ever changing business he decided to join.

There’s JAS. He did not finish his studies but was able to join the corporate world of high technology business, traveling to different places and doing well. Now, he went back to school to finish his thesis which was rejected at first because the professor can’t seem to understand the high tech language he used. He has a hard time simplifying terms and objectives suited to the university level, I think, because he has experienced the “real” world of work. Whatever his reason for going back to school must be very motivating because he finally relented.

With the varied opportunities to learning new skills, improving one’s craft and learning to adapt to the ever-changing trends, one still needs to study hard, get good grades and get a job. Or maybe not in that order.

Come to think of it, it is not bad to have a diploma to fall back on when the adventures to “search the meaning of life” and “searching to find your own place under the sun” are foiled. But that doesn’t mean that that diploma may not be one’s ticket to be a successful person.

Drive. Hard work. Dedication. Right opportunities. Calculated risks. These are some of the formula to have the success one wants to achieve.