WHY ARE THE FIRST BECOMING THE LAST?

 

WHY ARE THE FIRST BECOMING THE LAST? 

The secret behind the gulf  in the academic performance and the life performance of both A & C students. 

" ‘A’ students usually end up working for the ‘C' students", is a phrase whose acceptablity as an axiom, I am afraid, is gaining momentum. The veracity of this ironical claim is, no doubt, becoming established in people’s mindset. There exists quite a few practical evidences lending credibility to this anomaly, as it is clearly evident that more and more very bright ‘A’ students are being employed by owners of companies and organizations who happens to be ‘C'/average (as the school grading system describe them) students. But, why is this “the first shall become the last, and the last shall become the first (as illustrated by Jesus Christ) situation” becoming a norm? Just in case, you were also concerned like me, you might want to ask if there is something that the ‘A’ students are not getting? Could there be a secret, of which a majority of the ‘A’ students are ignorant, that the ‘C’ students know? 

You will agree with me that, without any form of illegitimate assistance, being an A grader in school is not an easy task, one for which, you will be really stressed. Anyone who is genuinely a highflyer, in terms of academic success, knows certainly that getting the Prize is not without paying a price. And, trust me, the price is not as easy as you might think it to be. The cost of going the extra mile in order to become extraordinary is not cheap; the effort that will be expended in standing out for you to becoming outstanding, believe me, is not without pain; the dedication, determination and discipline required for a First Class attainment must be great. It is good to admire to be the best but it is with a deep sacrificial investment that you become one. Considering the cost of a First Class attainment, is it not kind of repulsive to the human mind to see these same ‘A’ students being, in real life situations,  subordinate to their colleagues who, obviously, were not as good as they were in school? Sadly, such is the contradiction that the reality of the life outside the 4 walls of the classroom seems to suggest. History, and even current societal records, is replete with the examples of various people who were average students in school but were — and are— very successful in life. The fact that they are successful is not actually the issue; everyone should be successful, come on. Should they be termed failures in the society? No, they should not. God never created anyone to fail. The ‘average’ status, academically, is only a result of the school’s evaluation, not necessarily God’s definition, of the ‘C' students’ abilities. The issue, however, is that they became more successful than the ‘A’ students who, considering the rigorous effort it takes to be one, are expected to maintain the lead throughout life, and even more intriguing is the fact that the A students work for them. I ask again, could there be a secret known to the ‘C' students, but unknown to the ‘A' students? Or, will it be safe for us to simply (but very costly) conclude that, life is just being unnecessarily unfair to the ‘A’ students while the ‘C’ students are, undersevedly but luckily, enjoying the fair side of it life? Such a conclusion, I strongly believe, will be incorrect. But of course, there is something, as I discovered during the course of my deep contemplation on this matter, that the ‘A' students are probably not getting. Why are ‘C' students usually more successful particularly, In terms of wealth and relevance, than their ‘A'counterparts? Now, I like this, “…usually more successful…”. I think the right question to even ask is that, what is it about success that the A students are not getting but the C students are getting?

Success, in my own opinion, and as evidtenced by various success stories which I have seen and heard about, is not how much you are able to acquire in life. Thinking that the more you have is the more successful you become is a gross misconception of success. Your success, in life, is in how much you are willing to give to — not get from — it. You never succeed by being in your secured comfort zone. You see, I get to realize that, anything that promises you security is an attempt to sentence you into a life of irresponsibility, and consequently, perpetual failure. Success does not answer to those who seem to have a promise of security but those who, secured or unsecured, are willing to take responsibility. 

Many A students end up working for the C students because the status of being an excellent student gives them a kind of security mindset. There is this hope that there are greater chances for them in the labor market. They begin to sustain a mindset of being more secured because, as they have been made to believe, their success is more guaranteed than their ‘C’ counterparts. Now, we may not be able to say that this promise of security is untrue. The attitudinal effect of this mindset on the ‘A' students (for those who cannot mange it) is, however, the issue. It gradually makes the bright students to sink into complacency — not in terms of their academic performance though, but in terms of their attitude to life. By believing that, the higher your grades is the greater your chances of success, you naturally subscribe to the philosophy, knowingly or unknowingly, that you are going to get more from life than those who have been written of as not good/sound academically — at least, not as you are. You, in one way or the other, put yourself in a position where, rather than giving to life, passively expect to acquire from it. And, of a truth, that is the beginning of a life of failure. It happens, sadly, that the very status that was supposed to prepare them (the ‘A' students) for success actually sentenced them to living an average, if not an unsuccessful, life.

The ‘C’ students, on the other hand, knowing fully well that their chances of success in life are very slim, begin to think of how they can create a room of success for themselves in life. Since, there is no security promised to them on the basis of their average  academic performance, they are forced to take absolute responsibility for their life. Out of their desperation to succeed, regardless of their relegated status, they come up with things they can contribute to their society which will in turn fetch them money. So, they come up with beautiful business ideas intended to solve problems for mankind. They create a value and sell it to the people. They find a need out there, and take responsibility to fill it. Whether they know it or not, they are walking in the pathway of success. Gradually, their mentality, as against their ‘A’ students counterparts, who expect to acquire much from life, is how they will give much to life thereby contributing to the value of lives and the overall development of humanity. They make up for their areas of ignorance by either taking responsibility to overhaul themselves or getting people who are knowledgeable in those areas on their team. The idea they generate eventually grow to become large organizations and corporations. Then, the need for manpower, in the establishments, becomes indispensable. Announcement is made that there is need for quality professionals in various areas: engineers, artists, designers, etc. And, who do you think will rush to apply? The guy with very high grades who, out of his mentality of expecting life to reward him, has always been waiting for that opportunity. He is happy because he is going to show that he has more advantage than the average students. He dresses very professionally, and prepare adequately in order clitch the job. Well, having gone through the necessary screening stages, he eventually gains the employment, and he begins to work — in an organization whose founder is a ‘C’ student. So, the very status that was supposed to sentence the average students into a life of failure now became the greatest opportunity for them to succeed.

While it is obvious that the ‘A' students have greater opportunity and potentials to succeed, they allow the promised security to deceive them into a life of irresponsibility, and the result — they fail! The ‘C’ students, on the other hand, having realized that he seems to have no hope, desperately takes responsibility for their life. 

Life is not being unfair; it is simply being itself. Success answers only to those who are willing to take responsibility to contribute  value to the society. While the grades are good and very beautiful (you should, if you are student, strive to have them), the success, eventually, is not in the aptitude, but in the attitude. As long as you remain in your comfort zone, being deceived by the promised security of having a good life, you will only get a job. However, if you, secured or not secured, decide to take responsibility for your life, and add value to people’s lives, you will always create jobs. At the end of the day, what matters is not whether there is an ‘A’ student that is working for a ‘C’ student or the other way round; rather, it is that those who want to acquire much from life (be it ‘A'or ‘C’ student) will always end up working for those who want to give much to life (be it ‘A'or ‘C' student). 

It is good to have the grades but remember that they are not end in themselves; they are actually supposed to be a means to an end — of creating value and contributing to the development of humanity. And, just in case, as a ‘C' student, you are thinking that the average student will always end up working for you. You are wrong! It is not always the case. Life does not work like that. It simply rewards those who diligently follow its principles. Study hard and strive to be an ‘A' student. You will have had more chances of success, not neccesarily because of the grades, but the attitudes that produced the grade. And, at the end of the day, the quality of your attitude to life, not neccesarily your aptitude, is what will matter. 

NB: This is not an attempt to castigate the average students. Like I did mention in the write up, the average status given to them is only a result of the school’s evaluation, not God’s definition of their lives. What God, not any man, says about you is what matters. At the same time, it is not attempt to get you you to relax, if you happen to be an ‘A’ student; rather, it is to dissuade you from sinking into complacency on the basis of a promised security.