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Transcript

The Curse of 4.0 · The Daily Writer

• 0:06
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the Daily Rider Podcast, where we bring you tips and inspiration each day to help you build habits for writing success.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_00: For more resources, including your free Daily Rider Starter Kit, visit DailyRiderLife.com.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_00: When you're in high school or college, your main academic goal is to have a GPA, also known as a grade point average, of 4.0.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_00: Now that's a great strategy for getting good grades.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: However, the skills that help you become a 4.0 student in school, I believe, actually work against you in life.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_00: Now here are three reasons why.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_00: First of all, 4.0 students are great at following rules.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_00: You can only get perfect grades when you do exactly what the teacher says.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_00: However, this skill or this impulse is only valuable if the teacher knows what they're doing or if they're teaching you something that's relevant in the real world.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_00: Second of all, 4.0 students have picked up the unfortunate habit of living for the validation and the applause of others.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_00: They feel like losers unless they get recognition from teachers, peers, academic deans, or a scholarship committee.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_00: And then third, 4.0 students love competition.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_00: The whole idea of a GPA and a dean's list is to rank people based on their performance.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_00: And I believe this basically only serves to inflate the ego of the students who have obsessed over their grades most of the time to the exclusion of living a balanced life.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_00: I think it also unfairly punishes students who aren't wired to learn in a traditional classroom setting.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_00: Now, don't get me wrong, I enjoyed my 17 years as a college professor, but I also saw firsthand the shortcomings of traditional school.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_00: Let's be honest, the academic system is designed to reward students who enjoy school.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_00: That's basically what it's put together to do.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_00: Now, 4.0 students may get all the scholarships, awards, and academic recognition from their teachers, but those skills are not always that valuable in the real world.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_00: Because in order to become a successful writer and a business person, you've got to learn to think for yourself.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_00: You've got to be willing to break the rules when you need to or just create your own.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_00: You've got to validate your own success and you've got to seek out collaboration opportunities with great people.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_00: Those skills might lead to failure in the classroom, but they're exactly what you need to become a 4.0 student in the school of life.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_00: Here's today's challenge.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_00: Let's put what you've learned here into practice.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_00: I want you to think about another author that you respect who's in your social circle.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_00: I want you to shoot them a text or email today asking if you can have a quick chat about some ways that you can collaborate instead of competing.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_00: Big thanks to today's sponsor, which is Write Your First Nonfiction Book, the new book from my friend and business coach, Honore Quarter.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: If you've always dreamed of writing a book but you're not sure how to get started, this guide is exactly what you need.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_00: In write your first nonfiction book, you'll learn the exact system that Honore has used to write many of her own books.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_00: And the cool thing is that you don't have to guess what goes in each chapter because she lays it all out for you step by step.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_00: So if you're ready to stop dreaming and you want to learn from a very successful author, head on over to dailywriterlife.comslash nonfiction book to grab your copy today.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for listening, and I'll see you next time.