I was never a straight A student in school. I was always a little envious of those students who made school look easy and got straight A’s. Every year, I would begin the school year with the goal of doing all the right things to make A’s – it never seemed to work out.

Education experts will tell you the best ways to improve your grades include sitting in the front row, never missing class, completing all your assignments before class (that was really hard), taking good notes, starting early and working hard – all great ideas and suggestions.

I thought, what about getting straight A’s in life, what would it take? Here are some thoughts:

Action. People who make A’s in life are “doers” and not “talkers.” The people who make things happen eventually win. Shakespeare said, “Action is eloquence.” Loving what you do makes action so much easier. Just move the ball.

Attitude. You have heard it throughout life – your attitude determines your altitude, latitude and longitude. In other words, how high, and how far you go is determined by your attitude. Attitude is a game changer and it is an X factor in making A’s in life.

Ability. Ability is not given, it is developed. It means putting in the work, practice and effort every day. Ability begins with desire and ends with discipline to put the time and details into becoming successful.

Advice. People who make straight A’s in life know how to listen. They seek out people who know things about their careers, their business, goals, etc. There are two problems with advice. First, the advice we most often need, we choose not to heed. Second, most people would rather talk to a wise person than listen to a wise person.

Abstinence. To abstain means to deny oneself or to do without. The ability to postpone instant gratification is a trait we are losing in our culture. We want things right now and we want them easy. We are losing the will to deny ourselves in almost every facet of our lives.

Advancement. Seeking improvements and acquiring new skills will make you a straight A student in life. You build success with little victories every day. Doing the little things that will make you successful every day creates momentum. I call it the flywheel of success. A flywheel is that device that when you turn it several times, and with the momentum of the gears, it continues to run and run and run.

Don’t:
Apathy. Apathy in life is lifeless indifference. A quick way to fail in life is to lack interest in life.

Anger. Anger is an emotion that can consume a person. Anger is a waste of time, emotion and energy. When you focus on being angry, you become critical, and unfocused. I’ve seen anger get the best of some very talented people.

Adversity. Don’t let adversity stop you. Life is full of setbacks and disappointments. The straight A person in life sees adversity as a test and nothing more. They don’t let adversity define them.

See you in McAllen!