Bear Grylls says there's one reason why ‘unseen kids’ succeed in life instead of the ‘school hero’

Every class has that one smart, fabulous kid with the best scores, a big friend group, and perfect extracurriculars. He or she is the favorite, and everyone has the biggest expectations and dreams for them. To everyone’s surprise, Bear Grylls, TV host and adventurer, noted that it’s not these kids who "make it" in the true terms of success. The man who has seen and dealt with almost everything explained in his video that there’s one factor that the “unseen kids” receive and build on during the time they’re ignored, and no book, reward, or honorable mention can get you that. His perspective, posted on his Instagram account on December 1, is what people are calling “solid life advice.” 

Opening with a noteworthy point to ponder, Grylls said, “How often do we see the school hero didn’t do that brilliantly in life?” Sharing why that might be the case, the man explained that schools, adults, and institutions often reward strength, brains, and external features. However, the thing that you really need in the real world is something far more difficult to come by. Sure, you need all of these things to complement your core values and shape who you are. But as Grylls noted, it’s your heart, your mind, your determination that actually gets you prizes in the real world. “They’ve never tested this,” he remarked, pointing to his heart and soul.

On the other hand, the kid who doesn’t get any of the popularity and encouragement, who doesn’t win awards and trophies, keeps giving his best. Even then, he fails and often goes unnoticed. No one is concerned about the person who finished the race last or the one who passed with fair grades. But Grylls notes that when this student leaves school, even if he doesn’t have the best strength or the best fame or credits, he has resilience. The student who repeatedly failed but kept trying has overcome far more than the one who succeeded with the first shot. The kid who built the smallest thing from scratch has far more experience and understanding than the one who had everything laid out to start with. 

“That resilience muscle is strong, and in life, that’s the one that’s gonna carry you further,” the adventurer noted. He shared that as a father, the one thing he tells his kids day after day is, “Never give up.” “You don’t have to be the best to do your best,” he added. Psychotherapist Amy Morin shared with CNBC that one of the key factors to raising a successful kid is to let them learn from their failures. “The most accomplished people reached their goals by failing along the way. Kids who do well later in life focus their attention on what went wrong and how they could fix it. They have growth mindsets that help them turn failures into positive learning experiences,” she noted. 

The man himself has long been advocating determination and a never-give-up spirit to be the top requirements to succeed. In a conversation with Audible, the man noted, “Failure is such a key part of getting to the good stuff in life." He even mentioned how he doesn’t think he has much talent but has “a winning, survivor's attitude.” “And I think that thing of never giving up is the beating heart of a great attitude. It's the beating heart of what keeps people alive when the chips are down in the jungle and they're lost. And it's the beating heart of what helps people achieve in life,” Grylls remarked.

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