Joseph Legaspi's Blog - Posts Tagged "failure"
The DNA for Success
First off, Happy New Year!
I want to wish you all a successful 2019!
Speaking of success, I read two recent articles in Forbes magazine that talk about predicting success. One was that standardized testing can teach us about success in business and life. The other was that parents can already use genetics to select for more intelligent children through DNA editing technology. I point out three problems with using these measurements for this type of outcome.
#1 We Don't Know Enough Yet About Our Brains.
Our tremendous scientific advancements this past century have led to a much easier and more predictable way of life, but also to our over-acceptance of science as the FINAL fact-checker of our truths. In addition, do we all fully comprehend what the data are telling us – and not telling us?
Take for example DNA. First of all, DNA has not been proven completely reliable. Secondly, if DNA experts are correct that we are 99.9% identical and the 0.1% difference at the genetic level distinguishes us from one another, then that 0.1% has too many variables. It is just a mathematical construct, meaning nothing if you look at sheer numbers, but everything when you look at possibilities. Imagine for a second, the person who is totally opposite you. That's the 0.1% difference. Pretty big, huh?
On the brain itself, researchers cannot find where memory is physically stored in the organ, nor how the brain produces our conscious awareness. In other words, researchers cannot prove that the brain IS the mind. In neuroscience and biochemistry, there is no clear connection between nerve cells, synapses and chemicals to PROVE we are thinking or know anything. But one thing is certain. If we are not conscious, we cannot know anything. Our thoughts, feelings, experiences, aspirations – all this happens in our consciousness, which is not capable of being measured (yet).
On top of those limits, what we do know about the brain is baffling: The more we shut down certain parts, the more it strengthens memory, imagination, and logical thinking. We think that drinking stimulants like coffee will "wake us up", but some who have tried deep relaxation techniques, such as meditation, have reported far more mind-opening and illuminating experiences. Did you also know we use more of our brain when we are asleep than awake? In fact, the more active are our brains, the smaller the brain waves. We also cannot concretely explain why some people with autism possess exceptional abilities or those cases where people with severe brain injuries are not only able to survive but thrive better than healthier brains! We have barely scratched the surface of figuring out the brain and the mind.
Researchers also say the universe is in a state of constant flux. As our cells change daily, our states of mind will change, our feelings will change, and thus our situation will change. Quantum physics proves that at the subatomic level, nothing is "real" except what we observe as real to us. Sound far-fetched? Well, no one so far has been able to find evidence otherwise. The universe is actually what you BELIEVE or PERCEIVE it to be, not what you THINK or KNOW it to be.
I am not challenging science; I am challenging how we sometimes use science as an excuse to define and limit us, or when we use these "facts" as a backdoor to escape from facing the responsibility of growing beyond our current states. You can look at the scientific report of your genetic make-up but you can also "expand it". Bottom-line: Don't confine yourself to the so-called abilities of your brain. We are more than that or the sum of any of our body parts, much more, which leads me to reason #2.
#2 There is Much More to Success than 'Natural' Ability.
In fairness, our increased research into the brain has led us to "better" tests to reveal IQ. But there has been way too much emphasis on these kinds of measurement tools to accurately measure "natural abilities".
Standardize tests may reveal some level of creativity and imagination, but they represent only one predictor of success, and I would note that this predictor is in a manufactured setting. I've been amazed of my classmates from grade school who were in the bottom of the class and soared later in life to become brilliant medical doctors, accomplished scholars, and other highly skilled professionals. Their brains didn't change; their attitudes did. They became fueled by human factors that overcame once perceived limitations, such as newly found purpose in life, sudden invigorating confidence, and even falling madly in love with a career or that special someone who inspired them to take massive action.
The Forbes article stated these tests measure how well we respond to pressure, but they are no match for the more tangible pressures of real life, particularly those on the level of pure survival. For many kids in impoverished communities, there is immense pressure to succeed in life or die on the streets. These and many other real life situations can never come close to duplication in any "test" or simulated environment to project any accurate outcome. On the other end, I know many smart students who had so-called "teachers" who belittled and constantly discouraged them. Suffice to say, they didn't go on to make the achievements everyone expected from them. Someone with superior intelligence still needs to master moments of crippling fear, self-doubt, and hopelessness. This mastery is more important than sheer intelligence. So I didn't need science to tell me that genetics doesn't always predict our success. I saw it for myself.
I also read about it. A few years ago, I came across a book called How: Why How We Do Anything Means Everything by Dov Seidman, a man who suffered from dyslexia, struggled in school and could barely reach the top range of scores on the SAT, even after taking it multiple times. He didn't let that stop him, as he ultimately went on to get degrees in Oxford and Harvard, and started a company that was so successful it expanded worldwide. The Forward to his book was written by President Bill Clinton. Couple years ago he was a keynote address speaker at the United Nations Global Compact. Not bad, wouldn't you say?
Not nearly at that level, but my life has been filled with little surprises that defied expectations. Way back when I was taking my high school entrance exam for private school, I had trouble getting past the first few questions on the reading comprehension section. With my no. 2 pencil quivering between my fingers, the only thought running around my sweating head was: “OMG! Is this how hard high school will be?” I suddenly envisioned me always lagging behind in my language arts classes for the next four years.
Believe it or not, my future turned out quite different. I went on to win our high school essay contest, not once, but twice in consecutive years. I graduated with the English and Latin Medals for highest grades on those subjects in each of my years. I was awarded Advanced Placement English credits in my senior year so I would never have to take a single English course in college – that is, IF I decided to go to college. The prospect of succeeding in a big university seemed too challenging. Nevertheless, not only did I graduate with advanced degrees with honor, but today I work as Head Administrator at Rutgers University! On top of that, I lead writing workshops on a postgraduate level. Who knew?? Well, certainly not me at the time. It was a lesson for me not to define my future by my past. The problem with defining success is my final argument against predictive tools.
#3 The Definition of Success
Charles Hamilton, the renowned philanthropy gate-keeper at many charities, once imparted to me a profound piece of advice on grantseeking. “Want me to give you a grant?” He cautioned firmly, raising high his index finger. “I want one thing first and foremost: Show me what you mean by SUCCESS." He knew that everyone applying for a grant would use that word but may not fully explain it. Success is different for everyone and every organization, at different times and different circumstances. Some people became successful only after several little failures along the way, but they never regarded the failures as such. They were just little learning experiences, trial and error, to get them eventually to their goals. Success is subjective. So how can anyone accurately predict success when it is so dependent on each individual's perception?
My best friend's passion in life has always been defending animal rights. He could have excelled in any lucrative career he wanted. He has an incredible business mind, a powerful memory and can do lightning-fast calculations in his head. That said, he is neither rich nor wants to be. As an activist, he spends most of his time working without pay and lives a simple lifestyle – eating very little each day and not shopping for even basic items. His definition of success is incongruent with most of America's materialist culture, yet he is one of the happiest and most successful people I've ever known.
The definition of success also fluctuates and evolves with each person's prior experience of success. Long ago when I was just starting out as a grant writer, I wrote a proposal that was awarded a grant of $850,000. I felt on top of the world. Little did I expect that a year later I would secure an even bigger $16 million grant. Whenever old colleagues would remind of the $850K, I’d say, “Oh you mean the small grant?” They would then drop their jaws and reply, “Small?! You call THAT small??”
The definition of success identifies where your passion lies. On my success in school, I never saw myself as "better" than any test or smarter than any other person. Once I started high school, I don't know if my brain grew, but I surely knew my interest did in the reading materials. To this day, I cannot recall the topic of the passage I was reading (or rather 'struggling with') on that entrance exam, which speaks volumes -- I just didn't care for it. So I didn't WANT to understand it, and when you don't want something, it's hard to succeed with it.
Your definition of success sets your standards. It shows that you understand what you CAN achieve. And if you fail, what you can absorb as loss, but are still willing to take a chance and go for it. That state of mind makes you strive for more or remain where you are. No matter your superhuman DNA or genes, you cannot achieve any success without the right belief and drive. This new year, set a new standard. Live at a new level, a higher one. See what happens.
As I wrap up this blog, I point out that it isn’t where you start that matters as much as where you finish. DNA is only the beginning. It facilitates potentiality, not conclusions. The "you" that stands out as the infinitesimally huge 0.1% is waiting to be discovered, tapped into, and unleashed. The odds are astronomically high of someone having the same traits as yours, at the right order, and facing the exact life circumstances as you, at this precise point in time. Add to that the factors of confidence, perseverance, persistence, courage, determination, hard work, endurance, and so forth. They cannot be measured, predicted, or defined. But if you want to call them something, I'd say that entire mixture is the DNA for success.
I want to wish you all a successful 2019!
Speaking of success, I read two recent articles in Forbes magazine that talk about predicting success. One was that standardized testing can teach us about success in business and life. The other was that parents can already use genetics to select for more intelligent children through DNA editing technology. I point out three problems with using these measurements for this type of outcome.
#1 We Don't Know Enough Yet About Our Brains.
Our tremendous scientific advancements this past century have led to a much easier and more predictable way of life, but also to our over-acceptance of science as the FINAL fact-checker of our truths. In addition, do we all fully comprehend what the data are telling us – and not telling us?
Take for example DNA. First of all, DNA has not been proven completely reliable. Secondly, if DNA experts are correct that we are 99.9% identical and the 0.1% difference at the genetic level distinguishes us from one another, then that 0.1% has too many variables. It is just a mathematical construct, meaning nothing if you look at sheer numbers, but everything when you look at possibilities. Imagine for a second, the person who is totally opposite you. That's the 0.1% difference. Pretty big, huh?
On the brain itself, researchers cannot find where memory is physically stored in the organ, nor how the brain produces our conscious awareness. In other words, researchers cannot prove that the brain IS the mind. In neuroscience and biochemistry, there is no clear connection between nerve cells, synapses and chemicals to PROVE we are thinking or know anything. But one thing is certain. If we are not conscious, we cannot know anything. Our thoughts, feelings, experiences, aspirations – all this happens in our consciousness, which is not capable of being measured (yet).
On top of those limits, what we do know about the brain is baffling: The more we shut down certain parts, the more it strengthens memory, imagination, and logical thinking. We think that drinking stimulants like coffee will "wake us up", but some who have tried deep relaxation techniques, such as meditation, have reported far more mind-opening and illuminating experiences. Did you also know we use more of our brain when we are asleep than awake? In fact, the more active are our brains, the smaller the brain waves. We also cannot concretely explain why some people with autism possess exceptional abilities or those cases where people with severe brain injuries are not only able to survive but thrive better than healthier brains! We have barely scratched the surface of figuring out the brain and the mind.
Researchers also say the universe is in a state of constant flux. As our cells change daily, our states of mind will change, our feelings will change, and thus our situation will change. Quantum physics proves that at the subatomic level, nothing is "real" except what we observe as real to us. Sound far-fetched? Well, no one so far has been able to find evidence otherwise. The universe is actually what you BELIEVE or PERCEIVE it to be, not what you THINK or KNOW it to be.
I am not challenging science; I am challenging how we sometimes use science as an excuse to define and limit us, or when we use these "facts" as a backdoor to escape from facing the responsibility of growing beyond our current states. You can look at the scientific report of your genetic make-up but you can also "expand it". Bottom-line: Don't confine yourself to the so-called abilities of your brain. We are more than that or the sum of any of our body parts, much more, which leads me to reason #2.
#2 There is Much More to Success than 'Natural' Ability.
In fairness, our increased research into the brain has led us to "better" tests to reveal IQ. But there has been way too much emphasis on these kinds of measurement tools to accurately measure "natural abilities".
Standardize tests may reveal some level of creativity and imagination, but they represent only one predictor of success, and I would note that this predictor is in a manufactured setting. I've been amazed of my classmates from grade school who were in the bottom of the class and soared later in life to become brilliant medical doctors, accomplished scholars, and other highly skilled professionals. Their brains didn't change; their attitudes did. They became fueled by human factors that overcame once perceived limitations, such as newly found purpose in life, sudden invigorating confidence, and even falling madly in love with a career or that special someone who inspired them to take massive action.
The Forbes article stated these tests measure how well we respond to pressure, but they are no match for the more tangible pressures of real life, particularly those on the level of pure survival. For many kids in impoverished communities, there is immense pressure to succeed in life or die on the streets. These and many other real life situations can never come close to duplication in any "test" or simulated environment to project any accurate outcome. On the other end, I know many smart students who had so-called "teachers" who belittled and constantly discouraged them. Suffice to say, they didn't go on to make the achievements everyone expected from them. Someone with superior intelligence still needs to master moments of crippling fear, self-doubt, and hopelessness. This mastery is more important than sheer intelligence. So I didn't need science to tell me that genetics doesn't always predict our success. I saw it for myself.
I also read about it. A few years ago, I came across a book called How: Why How We Do Anything Means Everything by Dov Seidman, a man who suffered from dyslexia, struggled in school and could barely reach the top range of scores on the SAT, even after taking it multiple times. He didn't let that stop him, as he ultimately went on to get degrees in Oxford and Harvard, and started a company that was so successful it expanded worldwide. The Forward to his book was written by President Bill Clinton. Couple years ago he was a keynote address speaker at the United Nations Global Compact. Not bad, wouldn't you say?
Not nearly at that level, but my life has been filled with little surprises that defied expectations. Way back when I was taking my high school entrance exam for private school, I had trouble getting past the first few questions on the reading comprehension section. With my no. 2 pencil quivering between my fingers, the only thought running around my sweating head was: “OMG! Is this how hard high school will be?” I suddenly envisioned me always lagging behind in my language arts classes for the next four years.
Believe it or not, my future turned out quite different. I went on to win our high school essay contest, not once, but twice in consecutive years. I graduated with the English and Latin Medals for highest grades on those subjects in each of my years. I was awarded Advanced Placement English credits in my senior year so I would never have to take a single English course in college – that is, IF I decided to go to college. The prospect of succeeding in a big university seemed too challenging. Nevertheless, not only did I graduate with advanced degrees with honor, but today I work as Head Administrator at Rutgers University! On top of that, I lead writing workshops on a postgraduate level. Who knew?? Well, certainly not me at the time. It was a lesson for me not to define my future by my past. The problem with defining success is my final argument against predictive tools.
#3 The Definition of Success
Charles Hamilton, the renowned philanthropy gate-keeper at many charities, once imparted to me a profound piece of advice on grantseeking. “Want me to give you a grant?” He cautioned firmly, raising high his index finger. “I want one thing first and foremost: Show me what you mean by SUCCESS." He knew that everyone applying for a grant would use that word but may not fully explain it. Success is different for everyone and every organization, at different times and different circumstances. Some people became successful only after several little failures along the way, but they never regarded the failures as such. They were just little learning experiences, trial and error, to get them eventually to their goals. Success is subjective. So how can anyone accurately predict success when it is so dependent on each individual's perception?
My best friend's passion in life has always been defending animal rights. He could have excelled in any lucrative career he wanted. He has an incredible business mind, a powerful memory and can do lightning-fast calculations in his head. That said, he is neither rich nor wants to be. As an activist, he spends most of his time working without pay and lives a simple lifestyle – eating very little each day and not shopping for even basic items. His definition of success is incongruent with most of America's materialist culture, yet he is one of the happiest and most successful people I've ever known.
The definition of success also fluctuates and evolves with each person's prior experience of success. Long ago when I was just starting out as a grant writer, I wrote a proposal that was awarded a grant of $850,000. I felt on top of the world. Little did I expect that a year later I would secure an even bigger $16 million grant. Whenever old colleagues would remind of the $850K, I’d say, “Oh you mean the small grant?” They would then drop their jaws and reply, “Small?! You call THAT small??”
The definition of success identifies where your passion lies. On my success in school, I never saw myself as "better" than any test or smarter than any other person. Once I started high school, I don't know if my brain grew, but I surely knew my interest did in the reading materials. To this day, I cannot recall the topic of the passage I was reading (or rather 'struggling with') on that entrance exam, which speaks volumes -- I just didn't care for it. So I didn't WANT to understand it, and when you don't want something, it's hard to succeed with it.
Your definition of success sets your standards. It shows that you understand what you CAN achieve. And if you fail, what you can absorb as loss, but are still willing to take a chance and go for it. That state of mind makes you strive for more or remain where you are. No matter your superhuman DNA or genes, you cannot achieve any success without the right belief and drive. This new year, set a new standard. Live at a new level, a higher one. See what happens.
As I wrap up this blog, I point out that it isn’t where you start that matters as much as where you finish. DNA is only the beginning. It facilitates potentiality, not conclusions. The "you" that stands out as the infinitesimally huge 0.1% is waiting to be discovered, tapped into, and unleashed. The odds are astronomically high of someone having the same traits as yours, at the right order, and facing the exact life circumstances as you, at this precise point in time. Add to that the factors of confidence, perseverance, persistence, courage, determination, hard work, endurance, and so forth. They cannot be measured, predicted, or defined. But if you want to call them something, I'd say that entire mixture is the DNA for success.
