Episode 12 - Can't Be Arsed For Exams?

Hello, this is James Davey, The Exam Coach and Welcome to Episode 2 of Davey Discusses a new podcast series I'm putting together in time for the 2016 Exam Season.   So this short podcast series is designed to tackle everything to do with exams from preparation to performance. I'll talk about what I believe is necessary in order to do well and deliver a cracking set of results and also how to avoid some of the common mistakes I see students making.   These episodes are longer than the short, punchy video format I choose to deliver my usual Exam Coach tips and that's because they are intended to be easy listening, they're more conversational, I'd recommend listening to them when you're on the move, for example on the way to school or college they're intended as Kipling put it 'to fill the unforgiving minute with sixty seconds worth of distance run'    I wouldn't want you to sit through a video and unnecessarily take up your time and attention when the same value can be delivered through spoken word only. It's the Exam Coach Way of doing things, lets keep stuff simple and double down on the few ways that deliver the greatest results most efficiently and effectively. Without much further a due, lets get crack on.   In this episode I'm going to talk about what happens to the people who CBA to do well in their exams. CBA stand for for the few of you who may not know can;t be arsed, in other words the people who just don't care and don't try, not interested.    When I was at school I always wondered  - were exams actually worth it, was I missing something that everyone else knew, why did some people just not seem to care? Was I trying hard whilst everyone else knew that exams didn't really count for much? I think one of the biggest fears any student has about exams is that all their efforts and time spent revising and learning the material may not in the end be all that important down the line.   Certainly when I was younger and my grades and reports weren't looking too good at all i definitely had a bit of the CBA attitude. But once I decided to try and turn it around I was still a bit worried about what I've just explained - would all my hard work and effort count for nothing?     This all comes down to your belief in whether hard work and merit is rewarded or not. In this episode I'm going to lay out some observations I've made on this issue, I'll tell you what I've learned about the value of hard work and hopefully reassure some people that by getting their head down and working hard they will be rewarded in the long term.    Remember, the Exam Coach Way plays for the long term big wins, not the relatively meaningless short term ones.    So here are three things I've learned about what happens to the CBA crew down the line and why you should trust in the process and work hard for your exam results:      They Don't Get Lucky   The first thing is, they don't get lucky. A lot of students get worried about trying hard in their exams and making the necessary sacrifices only to find out that after education people can just get lucky. That person who got straight D's has a contact who got them in somewhere or they were randomly selected by an influential person and they seem to have got to where you would like to be without all the hard work effort and sacrifice. Yes, you're right,  this could happen. But let's put it into context...   I've always liked to think about exams and career choices in terms of gambling - I don't have any particular view on gambling I'm just using it to illustrate my point. Lets use the example of a roulette wheel. For me, choosing to well in your exams is like spreading your bet throughout the wheel, you might put a few chips on the top third and few on the bottom third and few on some numbers both red and black. You cover your bases and therefore you have more chance winning on a consistent basis. Those who don't bother with exams are placing the classic newbie bet, the bet that inexperienced gamblers place, they go for either red or black and they put all their chips on either one or the other, if they win they win big, but give them one or two more spins and they will eventually lose. Having said that they are equally as likely not to win at all in the first place - its a 50 50 and the longer the game goes on the more chance they have of losing it all. The spread bet counters against this, you can keep going for longer and in the end your more likely to come away with something.   The odds are stacked heavily against the group who just can't be bothered with exams, they are the rookie gamblers, betting on either red or black. They generally don't get lucky, and if they do, the luck doesn't last for long, its maths.    But you might also be thinking you always see people in the news after having built businesses and achieved amazing things with no qualifications. But this only serves to prove the point I've just made further. The reason why the media reports on this is because it is the exception rather than the rule, the story is news worthy because it is so rare. On the other hand, thousands and thousands of news stories of people with great qualifications achieving great things either go unreported or when reported on the persons qualifications aren't mentioned, its not newsworthy, its not surprising that they succeeded it was expected. The news likes to report about the unexpected and unusual - that is what attracts reader attention.   So what I'd like you to remember here is the importance of perspective. Its the student who cover their bases, who don't have to rely on luck or good fortune to get them places who stand a much greater chance, that being said, who said you can't have great grades and a bit of good fortune to go with it! If you back yourself to be the 1 in a one hundred thousand who relies on external factors beyond your control to get a lucky break then that's fine, I can't tell you what to think, but from what I've learned so far I'd want to be making sure I'm in the game for as long as possible and that I have some control over where I end up, to do this you'll need to solid set of exam results to help you along the way.    They Can't Just 'Turn It ON   When I decided to work hard and crack on with getting top exam results (around the age of about 15) I'd always hear the same story from the CBA crew. Things like 'it's about who you know not what you know' or 'I just don't like school, I'll be able to work hard and be successful afterwards - right now I'm chilling'.   Well, no we're all out the other side they could not have been more incorrect.    Let's deal with that first point 'it's about who you know not what you know'. No matter how well connected you are you need to have something to be able to back up why you are the right person for the job. If you don't its going to be much harder for your contact to explain to others why you are the right person for it. The job market is super competitive and when there is competition you need to have things to show that you can do the job well, if you don't, just being a friend of the boss or the son of a director isn't enough. It may have well been like this 30 years ago, I've heard lots of stories of people getting jobs because of who they knew back then. And yes, I do believe contact can still help. But today you need something to back this up. Everyone has a voice now, people want to see others achieve based on merit rather than who they are, decision makers have to react to this new environment of connectivity and communication where their decisions will be scrutinised, therefore their choices have to be the right ones both reasoned, rational and backed up by evidence. If you as a candidate can't supply the cold hard evidence then it's going to be difficult for your contact whoever they are to explain why you are the right person for the job or rationalise to themselves why you would be a good fit for their business. As a student you need to react to the conditions of the market, it's competitive on a global scale, you need to bring your A game to the table and there's always going to be someone waiting in the wings to step up and do the role you'd like for yourself. It's nothing to be afraid of but it's certainly something you should be aware of.     Also, the CBA crew can't just turn it on, they can't just start operating at a high level of performance once they leave school. I think this is another worry of those people who try hard and hone their craft over a period of time. The worry that other people will just be able to 'turn it on; so to speak, what I;m saying is they fear that other people will be able to leave school not having tried or worked hard or practiced and then will all of a sudden be able to perform work, execute routines and complete worthy and difficult tasks to the same standard as they people who have been honing and refining their way of doing things for many years. Well, I can tell you this doesn't happen. Every time you work hard or beat on your craft and practice creating great work you are becoming better at it and a gap is opening up between you and those who aren't. It takes time to close it, they can't just come out of school and suddenly start executing the routines, management systems and general attitudes that you have practiced and refined over many years.  Ever heard the quote 'you are what you continually do, excellence therefore is a habit' - Aristotle, it's quoted a lot but I have found it to be true. Hard work, organisation and persistence are skills that are developed you're not born with them and you can't suddenly do them to the same standard as a person who has practiced to a high standard over an extended period of time. Someone who hasn't done any of this whilst at school will be starting from square one whereas someone who has applied themselves is way ahead of the game. It's how things work and I nor any other person who is willing to put the work in wouldn't have it any other way.    They Just Don't Win   So let's go back to my first point, what about the people who go for the all in gamble, they stack all their chips on red time and time again because they are convinced that what they want to do has nothing to do with getting good exam results... Do they win?   It's a difficult one but from what I have observed so far I'd say no. Your passions and interests are subject to a lot of change as you grow up and what you are convinced about being or doing in the future when your 13 is very likely to change when you are 16 or 17 and then maybe again when you are 20 to 21 or at any other time for that matter. The most basic general example I can give of this is when very young kids say they want to be a policeman a sheriff or a firefighter a nurse or something like that (mainly because that's the fancy dress of choice for 5-8 year olds) and then some years down the line they joke about it, some may still want to do that, but I'd say the majority have a change of view. Perhaps a more concrete example would be this, I was convinced I wanted to be a lawyer around the age of 16, absolutely convinced, the money, seemingly high flyer lifestyle and being part of a respected profession was very appealing to me, 3 weeks and 3 law firm work experience placements later it had moved to the bottom of my list of career choices, it just wasn't for me. Regardless this didn't change my outlook on exams as I would have still needed a top set of grades to get a place at law school.   But what about if you're rooting for something that really doesn't require exam results. Popular choices for the dreamers out there are things like being a professional sportsperson or a performing artist and musician. Here I'd put forward the argument that exams actually help with the development of the skills needed to succeed in these fields you will need extraordinary levels of commitment, persistence in the face of failure, self belief and a relentless work ethic which always prioritises the long term. Exam preparation instills this in a person. It's great for developing the skills you will need for your future ambitions even though you may not perceive the grades to be of any real use to you. What's more you're covering your bases, not having a plan B because it distracts from a Plan A is disneyland thinking, although I would never deter anyone from pursuing what they truly want you always need something at least to fall back on and regroup. A solid set of exam results will give you the cushion to brea your fall if you are serious about competing in an industry where the failures outweigh the successes disproportionately.      From what I know it tends to be the people who applied themselves at school, realised the potential of getting great results and developing their skill set based on hard work that do the things all the CBA people wish they could be doing. I regularly meet up with od friends from my school days and its those who applied themselves in school who are now reaping the rewards for playing their cards right. Those who didn't are left figuring out how they are going to climb an uphill battle against the odds, it's till possible, but man those thighs are going to be burning when you get to the top of the mountain. So in fact we've come full circle, if you want an easier ride in the long term put the work in now and reap the rewards later, if you'd rather chill now, you can do that if you want to, but be prepared to have the deck very heavily stacked against you when you're in the real world.   Something that I mention a lot in The FUN Exam Plan is the importance of balance and prioritisation. You don't know what's going to come your way so the best thing you can do is cover your bases and make the call on what's most important to you on a day by day basis. That way you're ready to adapt to anything. For people who aren't willing to do this they often find too late and time catches up on them, they've wasted their time CBAing and they've got nothing to show for it, no skills, no work, no prospects, no nothing. It paints a pretty glum picture but its true - hard word is rewarded, and if you put nothing in you will invariably get nothing out.    If you're working hard and care keep going, the trick is to trust that hard work and persistence will be rewarded and to believe it from an early stage when you haven't seen much in return yet. If it's some consolation I can tell you that it will be, I'm out the other side and I don't regret one minute i spend sat at my desk hitting the books, nor do I regret any of the cracking times partying and having fun when exams weren't the pressing priority. Balance and prioritise - remember this. If you push something into life something is going to pop out the other side, the same applies for your exams. Keep going, the journey to A Town is a long one, but it's worth it.