Why You Shouldn't Judge Someone Based on Their Background

As human beings, we often look at someone's background to define whether they will be "successful" or not. We look at where they went to school, what grades they received, their parent's occupations, etc. 

What often gets lost in translation is what goes on behind the scenes. Things are not always as they appear. Although he just lost the Super Bowl, Tom Brady is the greatest QB of all time. However, coming out of college and into the NFL, he was not viewed as the next "superstar." Why? It is because scouts, coaches and many others overlooked his preparation, work ethic, and most importantly his heart/love for the game. 

Many people see where I went to college and will sometimes dismiss me because of it. If they investigate things further, they will see that my parents did not attend college (I was the first in my family to do so). They will see that I never worked for someone for very long (that is because I have been an entrepreneur in my heart from day 1). I do not get the instant "WOW factor" that many entrepreneurs from top schools get.

Here's what they don't see though... I attended college on a partial tennis scholarship, attending the college that gave me the most money (which happened to be Franklin Pierce University). Tennis did not come easily to me. I only took a few lessons and I taught myself the rest by watching a lot of videos, playing with better players, serving 300+ serves per day and putting in hours, even if I was alone on the court. In college, I found a way to make myself standout early on and I was able to get used to a lot of stress along the way by graduating college in only 2.5 years. I made it a point in college to get as many internships as possible and when it was all said and done I had 5 in 3 years. I was obsessed with learning more about business and was on a mission to limit my debt and set myself up for success. In college, my tennis business did pretty well and within no time, I quickly built up a client base of over 30+ students. My discipline is one of my favorite things about me. Whether it is waking up at 3:30 am every morning (no matter how little sleep I get), going to the gym 6x per week, reading whenever I have the opportunity, taking free courses on topics that interest me and working my butt off every day so that I can continuously work towards achieving my goals. Then there are my parents who did an excellent job raising me and always wanted what was best for me. They supported me but were never afraid to tell me when I had a dumb idea, which I loved. My mother and father loved me unconditionally and viewed my success, as their success (which it was - also my grandparents showed me so much support as well).

Now to discuss the present. I am working on something BIG right now and it pains me to not be able to discuss it, as we are in stealth mode (the time is coming soon where I can let everyone know what it is...hint, it is a technology startup). I'm very excited by our progress thus far. Building this business is the most fun I have ever had. It also happens to be more work than I ever imagined! 12-14 hour days, going to bed late, waking up early, dealing with massive amounts of stress and being constantly available to our clients has become the norm for me. Every day is a rollercoaster and I LOVE IT!

If anyone ever tells you that you are not qualified, kindly smile and say "you're right, but I will do it anyhow." When you believe in yourself, you become unstoppable. No mountain is too big to climb. Get yourself to the level you deserve to be at. Work hard every day and don't let the setbacks/criticism define you. YOU CAN DO WHATEVER YOU WANT, ALL YOU NEED TO DO IS PUT IN THE EFFORT AND BLOCK OUT THE NOISE. I KNOW YOU CAN DO IT!

Colleges, investors, employers, etc. listen up...

Don't judge someone before getting to know who they really are and what they are all about. Someone's background only tells a chapter of their story, not the whole book. Do not make the mistake of dismissing someone because you might be overlooking the next "Tom Brady" type.

Follow: @jaredstaylor on Twitter

www.jaredstaylor.com

My book: https://amzn.to/2GQI1GM

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