Back To School Millionaire, Yakezie Round Up, and Uncommon Money News
| August 17, 2010 | Posted by Roshawn Watson under Uncategorized |
By: Roshawn Watson
It is time to go back to school, which made wonder what impact does school have on overall economic success? Researcher David C. McClelland wrote:
“So what about grades? How valid are they as predictors (of success)? Researchers have in fact had great difficulty demonstrating that grades in school are related to any other behaviors of importance – other than doing well on aptitude tests…It seems so self-evident to educators that those who do well in their classes must go on to do better in life that they systematically have disregarded evidence to the contrary that has been accumulating for some time”
Robert J. Sternberg further argued:
“Nevertheless, between 75 percent and 96 percent of the variance in real world criteria such as job performance cannot be accounted for by individual differences in intelligence test scores.”
Of course, this is not to say that school is not important. Most millionaires do go to college and say that they benefited from college. The average high school GPA is 2.92 on a 4.00 scale (N=715). However, the next time you or a student you know is struggling with school, remember that 93% of millionaires stated that the most important lesson they learned from school was: “hard work was more important than genetic high intellect in achieving.” Notice, that speaks to tenacity not intelligence. Tenacity is one of the top two characteristics most millionaires learn during their school days.
Thought Question: What is the most Important Lesson You Learned From School?
Now, it’s time to do the weekly Uncommon Money News and Yakezie Round Up.
Uncommon Money News and Yakezie Round Up
In preparing to write my posts, I often come across noteworthy and sometimes bizarre financial and business news. Below are links to some of these sites. Enjoy!
This week I participated in 3 carnivals: Carnival of Financial Planning hosted by the Skilled Investor, Best Money Tips: How to Order from a Taco Truck Hosted at Wisebread, and the Festival of Frugality #243 Hosted at SimplyForties.
Included posts: Economists Blame ME for the Slow Economic Recovery , Why Is Debt Really Decreasing?, Hey Broke People, Stop Overpaying For College!
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Posts Of The Week
Who Are TV’s Top Earners?
To Splurge Or Not To Splurge (Barbara Friedberg Personal Finance)
Business
New CEO for Revived GM
GM CEO Whitacre says will step down Sept. 1
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How Credit Card Companies Make Their Money
Economy
Economists See Increased Chance Of Double-Dip Recession
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Entertainment Money News
Who Are TV’s Top Earners?(POW)
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Personal Finance (Yakezie, PF blogger Friends, and others)
10 Things You Can’t Be Asked at a Job Interview
The Upside of Irrationality (Joe Taxpayer) – The Study Outcome Is Exactly Opposite What You Expect
Why We Say No to Cosigning (Joe Plemon)
Myths About Millionaires (Squirrelers) – A Million Is Just Not What It Use to Be
To Splurge Or Not To Splurge POW* (Barbara Friedberg) – This Portfolio Manager is Quoting Zac Efron
Is The Limb Getting Ready To Break? (DIY Investor) – Investors Prepare Yourselves!
How I Almost Got Scammed (Invest It Wisely) – Don’t Get Scammed on Your Next Trip
Thanks for including my post in your roundup!
By the way, I agree on tenacity being of very high importance. It's not necessarily the smarter person who will succeed, but the one who's smart enough and is very determined, motivated, and takes action.
My recent post What I Learned From My Caffeine-Free Month
You are welcome. I do agree that book smarts can only take you so far. In itself, high IQ won't necessarily make you winner nor will a degree or special title. Kind Regards, Shawn
Roshawn,
I had to look it up: according to the Millionaire Mind by Thomas J. Stanley, "Graduating near or at the top of my class" rated dead last in the Success Factors or millionaires. The top three are "Being honest with all people", "Being well disciplined" and "Getting along with people".
This, of course, validates the point of your post. Good to keep these things in perspective as school is starting up again.
Also…thanks for the mention.
My recent post How to Partner Without Creating a Partnership
Yes, Tom Stanley's The Millionaire Mind is a phenomenal resource on this topic (School Days & Success Factors). It's amazing how those social skills can become so important in real life but are so discounted by their lack of emphasis in a school's curriculum. Thanks for this extra info. Kind Regards, Shawn
Thanks for the include today!
Thanks for the mention. There is a school of economic thought that says the value of a college education is that it signals to employers that the graduate can stick with and complete a fairly rigorous program. The argument is that most companies will teach you what you need to know.
I tell my students that what they need to come away is the ability to write a coherent memo, stand up in front of a group and explain something fairly complicated and be able to do some analysis. If they can do these 3 things they'll do fine and they will have gotten their money's worth.
Of course some students game the situation and somehow get a degree without being able to write a simple sentence much less a paragraph.
My recent post Treasury returns versus maturity
You bet… I love reading about great books. Thanks for the review.
That's a very thoughtful point. I guess it is easy to get so short-sighted especially in our microwave culture and just want the degree without paying the price. I would categorize "stick with and complete a fairly rigorous program" under tenacity, which supports your comment. The majority of millionaires surveyed in the studies that Joe mentioned earlier weren't especially bright, so they sometimes had to struggle to complete the program like you mentioned. In terms of writing and public speaking at high levels. Those are crucial skills. I am still working on them with waaaaay too much school 🙂 Hopefully, your students take your lesson to heart. Regards,
Shawn