5 Reasons you don't succeed after graduation?

We've all been raised in society to go to school, get the good grades and get a good job; you've done that. You have the grades, you worked your ass off and now you're thinking, "great, now what?"

 I want to share with you my experience. While attending school full time, I was always busy working or running a business. One major thing I learned, which urged me to create this post, was that my experience from business ("real world") and my school experience were far from the same, even though school is "supposed" to prepare us for the "real world".

Here are 5 reasons why you might be feeling ill prepared for life outside of your post-secondary bubble. Whether you went to university or college in Canada, I'm sure most of you can relate,


1. Isn't school just short term learning?

    A lot of the times we are cramming for those last minute exams and assignments just to get that A or B so we can get through that part of the course and repeat the process again for the next big assignment. Or maybe this isn't you, maybe you study a week or two before the test, which is optimal learning, but here's the problem. This is only learned knowledge, not practical.

Think back when you got your driver's license, you got your G1 by reading a book: did you really know how to drive a car after?  Most likely not.

This is the problem with the learning that schools set us up for. We spend thousands of dollars on these great textbooks (usually only read half of it) and we've learned the theory of how to be successful in that course. This is very short term learning; sitting in a classroom and writing a test, the model works great. But when you go out into the workforce, you don't have the luxury of only reading a book, you have to just do it.

Let me give you a statistics:
Based on the curve of forgetting, you only retain 30% or less of the new information no more than a week later, with no reviewing. This is why you feel like you haven't learned much after graduation, because this new knowledge hasn't embedded itself into your subconscious. Even though you paid $10 000-$40 000, cost 3 years of your life and you earned your graduation certificate.

How much have you learned from your school?
Do you feel prepared for the next steps in your career?

2. School is a great business don't you think?

Whether you like to think so or not, a school is a private institution that has profits and losses, aka a business (probably one of the most genius ones). Every day when you walked down the halls you were exposed to advertising, food, bookstores, all of which are businesses trying to make a living.

Why is this wrong you ask?
Let me rephrase this question another way, if you were the owner of such and such college or university, would you want more or less students graduating?

This is just an interesting perspective to ponder from your $10 000 education and how they use it to make money, not necessarily to help you succeed in the world outside of school. They do what makes them look good and profit.  Which is another reason to consider why you're learning isn't at it's peak.


3. 5 courses? 6??!! Isn't this too much information all at once?

How many of you at one time or another felt overwhelmed with the work load or stressed out?

Let's not all jump at once, but I know almost all of us have. There is an information overload in schools. It is mandatory to take 5-6 courses per year if you want to graduate in the least amount of time possible. Yes you can take fewer courses, which is probably recommended, but nobody tells you that it's okay to do so. Not to mention having to pay another years worth of tuition if you take the less work load and slower route. This amounts to another $5000-$10000.

They say, this information overload will prepare you for the real world and help you get that job...Yes..but no. This information overload isn't the same as a new job. In a job, you are focused on many different tasks related to one specific job. Schools pile you high with 6 different courses and new concepts and learning that drown you with knowledge. Which is why it is understandable you remember very little of your schooling years. Just when you feel like you've just got your neck above water, they throw down a dozen more concrete bricks for you to catch, oh by the way, don't drown. This method of learning is old fashioned and although it is obviously a path, it is not a successful path that anyone should bare to take.

4. How does a schools marking system measure success?

"The teacher was horrible I just had to drop that class" or "my teacher loved me, I definitely can't fail now". Teachers today are a dime a dozen, but finding GOOD teachers are tough. It is very subjective when you take a class and how they grade. Also it is very dependent on the student and how they learn. Teaching bright minded students eager to learn is truly a difficult task. I realize this is all upheld by the education systems and they have curriculum's to follow- that's the problem.

When you go for that job or run a business your success is measured through your results in performance, hard work and profits. Contrasting that to school, your success is measured through numbers and words on a piece of paper; hard work right? Of course it was hard work studying for that test, or completing that 20 page essay. But my point is, is your time and resources being spent in the right areas? We are all bright individuals capable of anything we set out to be, but spending day in and out of the classroom, listening, watching, and writing is only one side of the learning you should be receiving.  There are many programs like trades schools,  that do this very well, but not frequent enough. You need practical hands on learning immediately after you have learned a new concept. Until you have mastered that you shouldn't be allowed to move on to the next concept.

This grading system of A, B's or 75% etc, is great but as a student that's all you look at. Is this assignment worth marks? What's on the test? See, we are all focused on the end results of the test and not the learning. It is because of this flawed measuring system of success that we are incapable of successfully managing ourselves outside of school environment.

5. You chose to go to school right?

Well you chose university or college right? You didn't have to go and get the post secondary education. So why did you?

We all have our different reasons, but the bottom line is to get that job or business in doing something you like.

Unfortunately, in today's economy it is almost the minimum standard to have your diploma to get a half decent job (If it is a job you are seeking).

Even after all of those hard long years of university or college it is still hard to find a job. Now, you are not only in a similar situation you were before you went to school (career wise), but you have a lot more friends, more networks, new practical learning (hopefully), thousands of dollars in debt, 3 years older and are still working that minimum wage job.

Just to be clear, educating yourself and continually learning is the best thing you can do for yourself and others throughout your lifetime. I just want to point out that the school system isn't the greatest learning institution for optimal learning and is the reason why you probably aren't succeeding as much as you originally thought after your graduation. But schools serve their purpose in society quite well; house the masses before they enter the workforce.

Stop Settling, Start Living.

Are you sure you want a job?

One of my mentors recently brought up a very interesting question regarding working a job; "If you were the absolute best at what you do, the Michael Jordan at your job, at the end of the day would it give you your dream lifestyle?

 I was probably like most of you, because the answer was no. I quickly realized that there was no light at the end of the tunnel; no chance of living my dream lifestyle which is why at such an early age I chose to run a business.

For those of you that are stuck in your job and are hesitant to start a business like I was, here are a few things to consider about starting a job vs. a business. 

 Why your job isn’t giving you the dream lifestyle?           

                   
No Time, no time. If you only get paid by your efforts alone, what if you get sick? Laid-off? Or injured? What happens to that income stream? It fades away as fast as you do. Time is your most valuable commodity.

Everyone has 24 hours in a day and I'm pretty sure all of us are using all of our 24 hours, it just depends on how.

Just to put this into perspective in terms of time, let’s say you get paid $20/hr at your job. You have two options, you can either work more hours which maxes out at 24/hrs a day ($480/day max) or get paid more per hour. Getting paid per hour or salary will always have a cap because it is solely based on your efforts.

Let's be real, working 24/hrs a day consistently isn't possible, trust me I've tried. Then it hit me like a ton of bricks and I woke up and decided to take control of my time.

 Money we will always be able to get. Time we cannot.

 Is your job meaningful? Most people that don't like their jobs don't feel valued and don't feel like their efforts are contributing to the company as a whole.

 Why would you waste your time working a job that is income restricted that you do not like? It's nonsense.

 For those that do enjoy their jobs, hats off to you, as you found something that you value doing. Now the questions still stands, is what you are doing meaningful? Do you feel good after work?

Hopefully yes, but most likely not. The worst part is, you can't change that. If you don't like where you work, or how you feel about it, you are very limited as to what you can do; it's out of your control.

 You can't make the decision, other than leaving your 9 to 5, I call solitude.

You make the call...

 Me change? No I don't want to do that. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.

Some of you can relate, because a lot of people's jobs are get up, go to work, come home, go to bed, repeat. Insane? I think so.
           
 How do you enjoy life when it's stagnant and a vicious cycle of fatigue and stress. A job is built to keep you in the "rat race".

With few exceptions, your employers don't want you to become better outside of work, you know why? Because you're making them rich! They try to keep you happy and they stay rich.

 Change is needed to become better in life. There are only two things in life we can guarantee; change and death. I don't wish the latter, so if you want things in your life to change, you have to change things in your life.


Why running a business gives you the dream lifestyle.

      More Time, more time (Time Leverage). You no longer have to work on a linear basis, where you are only getting paid off of the time you put in. You can now leverage your income by getting paid 24 hours a day in spite of your own efforts.

Now you can enjoy your time whenever, with whoever you chose. Why? Because you have a system that generates cash flow; your business. You can now leverage your time because you have people working for you.

 For example, if you have 5 employees working 8 hours a day that's 40 productivity hours that you get paid on. Whereas a job, you can only get paid on a max of 24 hours.

I like the potential growth here with no ceiling, what about you?

 Do something meaningful. Since time is your most valued commodity, it is a great feeling to be doing something you love to do. We've all heard the saying, you never work a day in your life if you like what you do; it's true.

Jobs and business are dime a dozen, but the best part about a business is you can design and mold it to however you like, not to anyone else’s standards.

 You call all the shots. Wake up at 10am, sure; weekends off, why not! It's all up to you, which makes your life that much more entertaining and invigorating.

 Not only do you feel better, but you are adding value and contributing to society as a whole. You're now in the driver’s seat with the world at your fingertips, ready to start the engine?

Money, money and more money. With your new found glory of a system that runs in spite of your efforts 24/7 you will learn to use your money wisely and in many different avenues.

You are in complete control of your income stream and you can now pay yourself first (yes, even before the government!)

The money generated from the business does not have a ceiling on it. If you buy, sell a product or service you can't run out of people to sell to; it's nearly unlimited.

This is why your income stream can continue to grow, and then you can have your money work FOR YOU as oppose to you working for money. Meaning you can now invest those profits from a business into another business venture, stocks, real estate, whichever you see fit.

Continue Changing. If you stop learning you stop growing. The best part about running a business is the changing environment. You are always learning new things and you can never know everything. This allows you to continue to develop your skills and it will keep your mind active your entire life.
Never a dull moment!

What about the responsibility, hard work and risk?

              
 See, I know what you’re thinking, because I thought the same way and to answer that, lets put this into perspective in terms of your job.

You already have responsibilities at your job, and they keep getting bigger and bigger, is it easy? Of course not, it's what you are told to do to keep your job and ultimately get the paycheck.
 Now if you work harder, or train someone else to do what you do, do you get paid more? Probably not, or if so it'll be a measly $1-2/hr raise?

 If you are willing to work 40+ hours a week for 40 years of your life building someone else's dreams, why not do it for yourself?

You already told me that your job didn't give you the lifestyle of your dreams, why not put a little more effort, responsibility and risk into a business that gives you the time, money, satisfaction and YOUR dream lifestyle?

Still want a job?
 Don't get me wrong, a job has it's time and place. It has a great structure because we need people to work the jobs in order for our economy to be successful.

But for those that want more out of life, and live that dream lifestyle, there is another way: Become a business owner. A job is meant to create finances, not wealth.

Is it all about the money?

           
Although most of you might be thinking right now "it's not all about the money, there is a lot more to life". Yes I would completely agree.

On the contrary; how limited are you with money vs. without? If you made a list of all the things you want in life, how many of them can you get without any money?

It's not all about the money but what you can do with the money that will give you the dream lifestyle. Whether it be, to buy your family a new home, put your kids through school, or relieve yourself and loved ones from debt, it's a different feeling to be able to have money.

It's the feeling money brings, when money is out of the equation and you can focus on the more important things in life that YOU WANT TO DO.

Choice is yours, I've made mine.

        
Feel free to comment and stay tuned for part two of this miniseries and find out what limits you to become that successful entrepreneur and be your own boss.