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What is the wrongest thing you learned at school?

Seth Godin Books
Image by Andrew* via Flickr

Boy, doestn’t that make your mind wake up and quiver.  Usually we are asked what lesson changed your life and opened you up to success.  The idea that we may have learned something that handicaped us and sentenced us to a life a servitude and misery just never pops up in our consiousness.

Well Seth Godin thinks differently from most of us and he asked the question in The Dip. This is his answer.

“Just about everything you leanred in school about life is wrong, but the wrongest thing might very well be this:  Being well rounded is the seccret to success.”

Look around at successful people today.  They aren’t the ones that are pretty good at everything. Those are the guys in the cul de sac, the dead end jobs with the companies going nowhere.   The successful people are the ones that are exceptional at the one thing that is important.

As I ponder Seth’s statement, it raises an important question for me. I am getting a focus on my mission and my business.  I am beyond beginner and not yet close to success.  There is a lot to do and more to learn.   I could be in the cul de sac or the dip.  Trying to be and do everything will guarantee that I flounder.  Becoming exceptional at something that matters will get me out of the dip.  What do I care enough about to become exceptional at?  And when do I start  getting a VA to do everything else.


{ 4 comments… add one }
  • Steve Scott Site May 24, 2010, 1:56 pm

    One thing I remember from school is the way the “different” kids were treated. Anyone who was brave enough to step outside the box and do their own thing or dress in their own style was mocked by the “normal” crowd, but now that I’m an adult I realize that being different is often what it takes to succeed!
    .-= Steve Scott Site´s last blog ..Steve’s Sunday Selections – May 23rd, 2010 =-.

    • Ralph May 24, 2010, 2:00 pm

      It was not just dress but thinking as well.

  • Gurl May 24, 2010, 5:16 pm

    Oh goodness.. I learned that I wasn’t pretty enough(no one wanted to date me), that smart girls can only date nerds (not true, but nerds are so much more fun),that 1+1 always = 2(usually true but not always)..I could probably go on and on. Sounds like me and Godin have some things in common in thought. Kind of a cool realization there 🙂
    .-= Gurl´s last blog ..Review: Blogger Beats =-.

    • Ralph May 24, 2010, 5:21 pm

      And you learned that what you learned wasn’t true after all after you got out.

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