Are cool kids doomed for failure?
I don't know about you, but when I went to school, the coolest kids in the class who were destined for greatness somehow fell short of their schoolyard celebrity status and became, well, um, not as successful as their parents and friends first thought.
I remember all those cool kids who seemed to have it all at the ripe age of 14, while I sat in the library reading a book because, quite frankly, I wasn't as cool, nor did I win any particular popularity contest to speak of.
Instead, I wrote my weekly debates and hoped that the cool kids' "coolness" would somehow rub off on me and overnight, I could hang onto their coattails too. But that was not to be - instead, I spent every free hour at school secretly hoping that one day I would be cool too.
As I became older, my luck changed. I didn't become cool as much as I hoped I would, but instead, I used the only thing going for me to gain some notoriety in other areas.
Seems like I am not alone, although I am a bit ashamed to admit my shortfall in the schoolyard out loud or on this blog for that matter.
Likewise, I doubt that I am gaining any type of popularlity by putting my name in the same paragraph as the people I am about to mention.
Why are cool kids doomed for failure?
It's simple. The rich list is not full of cool kids - it's full of nerds, unpopular people and those who are sometimes known to be lacking in any type of IQ which resonates with the education system.Mostly, they are college dropouts, come from poor families, were bullied at school and, believe it or not, they got "C's".
High School dropout David Karp is Tumblr's founder and CEO. He started learning HTML at 11 years old and dropped out of school at 15. His net worth today is a staggering $200 million and his "mug shot" has been featured on the cover of Forbes.
Michael Dell wasn't part of the cool kids brigade but was making more money at 15 than his history or economics teachers. He went on to build a company that is now worth more than $14 billion.
My personal favorite, Steve Jobs, dropped out of college after just six months, wore coke bottle glasses and had more geeky traits than you could ever imagine, yet went on to become one of the most acclaimed and recognised business people of all time, with billions in his bank account.
Sean Parker from Napster didn't make it to college but was making $80,000 per year in his high school year. He was also the founding president of Facebook. Although he became cool when he made some cash, he didn't win popularity contests at school and couldn't keg-stand for the life of him.
Everyone has seen David Fincher's cinematographic adaptation of Mark Zuckerberg's success story "The Social Network" and you could see how a young Zuckerberg wasn't exactly popular and was somewhat nerdy.
One reason that might explain why not-so-cool kids succeed in later life is that they have much more time on their hands. They are not hanging in the "in" crowd, don't get invited to parties and need to hide in the library in order to not get beat up or teased endlessly because they don't fit in, haven't got fashionable clothing at their disposal and stutter every time someone remotely cool walks in their path.
As for the cool kids at my school, they became single mothers, secretaries, labourers and school teachers - vocations that didn't rely so heavily on high school results. In my year, you didn't have to be overly bright to be a school teacher, unlike someone studying medicine or law.
Like Zuckerberg, Gates, Jobs and Dell, it appears that the rich list is cluttered with "not-so-cool" school kids, but highly desirable adults. I bet if they were single right now, they wouldn't struggle for a date. Amazing what a few zeroes at the end of your name can do.
So explaining to your children that it doesn't matter that you don't have the right colour shirt on, or that you actually like your glasses just the way they are - may mean that they too become the inspirational entreprenuers that rule the world, rather than the popular kid in the school yard on social benefits.
Were you one of the cool kids? Did you succeed? Share your story!
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comments ( 11 )
Virgil Harm
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ReplyMatthew Taylor
07 Jul 2013I really think that it depends on the person, whether you were 'cool' or not that sets somebody up for success. Success is something that is driven by the person, and in my experience I look back at my fellow classmates, and I am able to see that some of them who were deemed the popular cool kids, are now graduated from university and working in highly skilled areas, some have even began to play for big sports clubs, but from what I can remember a lot of these people were always very driven, confident and knew what they wanted and went for it.
ReplyI can understand that the whole idea of being unpopular in school or university and then becoming really successful and can be a big motivator for these unpopular kids, and that is the source of their success, or revenge I guess you could say. As I have heard before "Success is the best revenge" Being popular or unpopular in school doesn't necessarily shape your future, it's your own personal drive, and reaching your goals and dreams.
But over the past few years things seem to have changed and being smart and knowing your stuff, and having a strong drive and being yourself, seems to be the new 'cool'.
Matt
03 May 2013I think it is possible for both cool kids to be as smart as others and to be just as successful.
ReplyIt all depends on the person I suppose and their goals. Everyone is different and I feel that depending on the person and their goals they can be successful if they apply themselves and their are cool people counted among those who are successful.
Andrew Livingstone
10 Apr 2013Interesting that if, like me, you weren't overly interested in football or clubbing, then you were an outsider at school, and yet we are the ones that seem to flourish and succeed afterwards. It's nice to see karma pay dividends.
ReplyLindsay Crouch
09 Apr 2013It really comes down to the definition of cool doesn't it? Even ending up with Billions of dollars in the Bank doesn't necessarily make a person cool either I would have thought.
ReplyJackson Naulty
08 Apr 2013I believe it is important to note that some aspects and qualities 'cool' students poses enable them (or some of them) to achieve the same, if not greater, success in their careers than do the 'nerds'.
ReplyYou can find that most 'cool' students have high confidence, great people and interpersonal skills as well as leadership qualities that do make them that 'cool' or 'popular' kid at school, however later in life these skills and qualities are imperative to achieving success in any field of work.
Of course, it is valid to say that not ALL the 'cool' kids transfer their natural people skills and confidence to their respective careers, but those that do (along with a certain level of intelligence), in my opinion, are a lot more favorable individuals to have working within a business than quiet, anti-social, independent 'nerds'.
Melinda
08 Apr 2013While it is somewhat true that a lot of these popular entrepreneurs and big shot business leaders have stereotypically earned celebrity status without the aid of a previously being a "cool kid", I don't agree that "cool kids are doomed for failure". Speaking from experience, I personally know plenty of people who were vastly well-liked in school who still have the motivation, drive and brains to succeed in life. Increasingly so, there is a much larger emphasis on academic achievements and encouragement for thinking out-of-the box in today's society. It is no longer "uncool" to be smart and ambitious. After all, it is much easier for big named celebrities to spiel a sob story about a past life and win sympathetic hearts over. Of course, this is not always the case but just food for thought.
ReplyThere's nothing wrong or shameful about being "single mothers, secretaries, labourers and school teacher". Financial success and a piece of paper with a printed qualification does not necessarily lead to personal happiness or credibility in everyone's life. If all of us had big, glittery dreams of glory, the world would be a hard place to constantly keep up in.
Arnaud
03 Apr 2013Even if I agree on the fact that more "nerds" than "so-cool" people will be successful in their professional life, I also agree with Amanda. Indeed "cool" doesn't always mean you are not intelligent, not hard worker and that you can't be successful in life.
ReplyBut maybe "cool" people are less ambitious concerning their professional life because they've already had the glory when they were at school. To be honest it's a hard to express an opinion on this kind of subject.
Amanda Flynn
03 Apr 2013While it seems the "nerds" at school will become more successful then the "cool" kids, I don't believe this is always the case. There are successful people who were "cool" in school and not spending their lunchtimes in the library. In my year level it was considered "cool" to be intelligent while still being social and fashionable unlike in the day were getting C grades was "cool". Generation Y could be the new generation to show being cool in school doesn't mean your destined for failure. Only time will tell.
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