My failure as a student
I have always been a failure in school.
Sure, I passed my classes and I graduated from university, but I struggled every step of the way. I still don’t know how I passed.
Some kids are bad at math but good in English, or vice-versa, others find that one class that picks their interest and they excel in it to the detriment of all the others. None of those scenarios were true for me, I had zero interest in any of my classes.
My failure as an employee
My first real job in Canada was in the financial service industry. I was a financial advisor. From the beginning, I had a hard time fitting in. I have a problem with hierarchies and bureaucracy.
But I also had a problem with the job I was doing. I was selling financial products that were engineered to benefit my employer at the expense of the client. I felt dirty and dishonest every time I made a sale.
In short, I quit my job as I discovered that I was unemployable.
Venturing into entrepreneurship
Because I found it difficult to be a cog in the machine of corporate life, I started doing my own thing. I opened my first business, I opened a dance school.
I worked harder than I had ever worked before in my whole life for less than minimum wage, but the thing I was building, my own business was mine, I didn’t have a boss telling me what to do. I didn’t have to suck up to anyone for a raise, for a positive performance review, or for some vacation time. No! none of that. I was sovereign of my own life.
Academic stupid but street smart
This is when I discovered that I was academically stupid, but street smart. I figured out the value of a smile. I figured out that treating a client with dignity and respect is worth more to me than an extra dollar in my pocket.
Since I quit my job, I have been in the business of serving people.
- I ran (with the help of my partner) a dance school for six years
- I ran a short term property rental business for five year
- I ran a photography business for three years
- And now it’s been three years since I have been running a blog and a podcast.
How to be street smart
- Disarm people with a smile. People are generally good. Deep in their heart, they want to like someone and they want to be liked. Just by being polite and offering a smile, you have already succeeded at 90% of your interactions.
- Don’t attribute to malice what can be explained by incompetence. Everyone makes mistakes. If you point out those mistakes and make the other person feel like an idiot, you are going to build some resentment. Instead, give people the benefit of the doubt and an opportunity to correct themselves.
- Go overboard with generosity. One of my failproof hacks is generosity. When I started my school, I gave hundreds of free dance classes, for many years. Those free classes generated tons of goodwill. My dance school was extremely profitable in spite of heavy competition.
- Charge less instead of more. I see this headline all the time: “How to charge more for your products and services.” Somehow, I always try to figure out how to charge less for my products or services and still make a profit. In my mind, it’s not about how much I can get, but how much I can give.
- Join social clubs with lots of human interaction. I was a member of Toastmasters International for six years. During that time I had many social interactions with people from diverse backgrounds, races, religions, and ethnicities. I learned to see things from their perspective and learn how to empathize with people who have little in common with me.
- Read fiction. I love reading nonfiction but reading fiction has helped me understand the psychological motivations of others. You get to put yourself in someone else’s shoes and live in their world for a moment of your life. Understanding others is the best tool for being street smart.
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