You may be astonished, as I have been, to learn that the
failure rate beyond high school and beyond college is much greater than it
is in matriculation through those institutions.
Endless studies point out how much trouble there is with formal education
today … with great numbers of high school students not being college-ready and
college students not being job-ready. But
it happens to be small potatoes compared to the trouble people have in
navigating the “real” world once they get OUT of a structured learning
environment and into the DOING environment.
For reference, add up the following numbers:
- People who are unemployed and who may be “unemployable”
- People filling positions for which they are not qualified
- People who simply show up for work and reluctantly do what they’re asked or told
- People “advanced” to positions where they do not impede progress
- People who get “passed over” for promotions
- People “stuck” in jobs they do not like
- People who “don’t fit” the job or organization
- People who outright get fired
- People whose jobs are downsized
- People whose positions are eliminated in “reorganizations”
Of course, many of these may be the same people! However, add to
this total the number of people who merely dream and whose dreams are never
realized … who don’t win the Power Ball Jackpot … whose “ship” never comes in,
etc., and the numbers become staggering.
We don’t generally label such things as “failure” … maybe
merely as “unlucky” … sometimes as “unfair”.
But it certainly takes the stuffing out of Dreams and
possibilities.
“This is the way the world ends, not with a
bang, but a whimper”.
Paradoxically, those who eventually realize outstanding success
are not unacquainted with failure. It’s
not all “favoritism” or “cheating”.
What’s going on here?
The formulations for success and failure are complex. What eventually “works” is often the
serendipitous culmination of a whole lot of unsuccessful, best-guess “shots in
the dark”. However, we know a
considerable amount about what doesn’t
work, and failure to continue our matriculation is one of those things. Continuing advancement is an inextricable part
of “The Deal” between us and our Destiny; the drive to achieve the best future
we can envision doesn’t stop once the doors to formal education close behind
us. That’s only the beginning!
For many, it may not so much matter whether they won or
lost, if they were at least “In the game” enough to win some.
But for those who would like to win more, we need to go “out of our way” in advancing
ourselves – through preparation … through life-long education … through training
… through accepting increased responsibility … through the demonstration of
“ownership” … through constantly resetting our assumptions, expectations and
dependencies. Unfortunately, a great number of folks quit
pushing as soon as the first opportunity comes along. Zig Ziglar famously told about the
unfortunate lad who lasted only 3 weeks in his first venture: “He stopped looking for work as soon as he
got a job!”
For better or worse is the way the world works. “For Better” actually looks a lot like
“worse” (i.e., “harder”) in the making, but its rewards are ultimately much more
certain and indelible. And “Worse” looks
a lot like “better” (at least “easier”) in the short run – because it requires
nothing of any consequence; but it’s unconscionably harder in the main, and its
rewards are lousy.
Choose better!
“A lot
more people than necessary are leading lives that are a lot more difficult than
necessary: some because they only ever had poor choices; some because they only ever made poor choices; some because they simply didn’t know any better; and
some because they simply ‘couldn’t be bothered’.” Quartermaster
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