OBJECTIVITY is one of those QUALITIES OF SUCCESS that really fits in a couple of places. It’s one of those that hasn’t always been easy for me, but one that I have worked hard to live up to at all times. Objectivity is the strict adherence to the TRUTH, not as you would like it to be, not as you want people to believe it, not even as STEPHEN COLBERT FEELS it should be, but as it really is.

For young people, there are a lot of times when you wish truth would fit your definitions, despite everything you know to be true; you wish that you had done your homework on time, you wish that you didn’t have to work to accomplish your goals (or those of your parents), and you wish that life wouldn’t come crashing down on you as soon as you get out of school. I’m not immune to it either; I really wish that I was as good an employee as I think I am. The problem is, I know that I’m not. I know that there are places where I could improve, and that with these improvements my life would be easier.

My parents had a saying when it came to wishing and the truth; it’s actually a vulgar and wildly inappropriate saying, so I won’t repeat it here, but the gist is this: Wishes really have no real substance, and less value than the least valuable of stuff.

The point of objectivity is, to be successful, you have to understand the reality of any situation, and plan accordingly. If you are willing to accept that your wishes, hopes, and dreams are nothing more than this UNLESS you are willing to put in the hard work to realize them, you have a pretty good shot at success. If you aren’t, maybe Qualities of Success isn’t right for you right now.

When working, you have to understand that life is rarely fair. There are going to be times when your wishes will run afoul of reality. Your choice, when this happens (notice I said ‘when’, and not ‘if’), is to accept reality and work within the constraints of reality, or to try and BS your way through, hoping that reality will suspend itself for you. When at work, some things to keep in mind:

1. Not everybody is there to help you. Some people are, but others are there for their own purposes, and still others are going to actively try to screw you over.

2. Not everybody is there to screw you. Some will try, and their success will be based on your willingness to allow them.

3. You might have a better way of doing things, but that doesn’t mean your way will work, or that it will even be attempted.

4. You may think you have a better way of doing things, but you might not be aware of reasons why your way isn’t better.

5. Some people will have more experience than you at something.

6. Some people will claim to have more experience just because they have been there longer.

7. Know the difference between both of these types of people.

8. Most bosses are there to ensure the company is run smoothly, not to make sure you are taken care of.

9. Some bosses will believe that the best way to run a company smoothly is to make sure their employees are well taken care of.

10. No matter what you do for a living, you will experience times when you wish you were doing something else. That’s okay, as long as you think very strongly before making the change.

With money, objectivity isn’t nearly so complicated: You will find people that will tell you that they only way to be financially successful is by investing in x. X may be Real Estate, or it may be Entrepreneurialship, or it may be something entirely different. Objectively, you can be wealthy working in Real Estate, and there are no shortage of entrepreneurs that are wealthy. There are also wealthy actors, athletes, and politicians. There are also plenty of wealthy worker types who just do their job better than everybody else can. Guess who has more wealthy people?

The most important aspect of objectivity is in life, when you have to maintain your objectivity in order to maintain your image, or brand. I’m pretty sure that my methods are the best for young people, but objectively I know that there are some young people who won’t get the most from F4Y. For whatever reason, F4Y isn’t for them. I have to maintain my objectivity and understand that this is the case, and work harder to make sure I’m giving the best information to those that I am reaching, while still maintaining hope that more will come to the fold.