The DNA For Success

Two recent articles in?Forbes?magazine 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 the development of "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.

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 an advanced degree with honor, but today I?lead writing workshops at Rutgers University on a postgraduate level and research programs depend on my grant writing skills to sustain their funding. 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 me 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 didn'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, your expectations for what you should achieve. 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.

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.