📢The #1 Skill they failed to teach you in school

Charles Schwab became one of the first people paid a salary of 1 million dollars a year.

Author

Justus Bosch
August 30, 2024

Hey It’s Justus,

Today, in 5min or less, you will learn:

  • How a high school dropout became one of the first people to ever get paid a salary of 1 million dollars a year.

  • How much more social skills can make you at your job.

  • The #1 thing you can do to skyrocket past your competition and win life.

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The #1 Skill they failed to teach you in school (but has the greatest effect on your life)

In 1921 Charles Schwab became one of the first people paid a salary of 1 million dollars a year.

Despite never graduating high school he was now the president of the U.S. steel company. How?

Schwab says his success came from this 1 skill: Dealing with people.

Schwab grew up on a frugal lifestyle.

He remembers one Christmas all he got was one marble in his stocking. To help his family he left high school to start working in the steel factory.

Despite his childhood Schwab rose through the ranks faster than anyone.

You’d think he was a genius or knew more about steel than anyone else.

But Schwab admits how many people working for him were smarter and knew more about steel than him.

Why was he president then?

He points to his ability to deal with people as the #1 reason he got paid such a high salary.

This skill allowed him to:

  • Motivate workers to increase steel production without criticizing them.

  • Attract top talent. (A former elevator boy became an engineer and went to work for Schwab because of how he'd treated him.)

  • Negotiate and establish the U.S. steel company. (The first billion-dollar company in the world.)

Schwab isn’t alone.

A study by the Harvard Gazette found people with good social skills make on average 26% more money than those without. These people are more likely to get promoted, run a successful business, or win a deal. 

We like to say Money makes the world go round. 

But in truth, People make the world go round. Understand how people work and you understand how to deal with the world.

A every step, being good with people only gives you an advantage.

  • Wanna get hired for that job? Learn how to make an amazing first impression during your interview.

  • Wanna get promoted? Learn how to work well with others and lead.

  • Wanna not die alone? Learn how to become someone people want to spend time with.

That’s why people skills are invaluable.

The best part?

Most people spend 0 time studying and developing this skill. It’s never taught in school or the workplace. At most, people get advice from their parents telling them to “be yourself”. For those who spend even a bit of time learning these skills, it makes the world theirs for the taking. Even with little effort you immediately stand out.

The Bar is low. Studies show:

  • 41% of respondents felt they lacked confidence in their communication skills

  • 15 million adults in the U.S. (about 7% of the population) have social anxiety disorder.

  • 53% acknowledge that they often struggle to find the right words or worry about coming off as awkward.

You might be part of this statistic.

But the good news is that social skills can be learned, such as the piano. With some basic practice, you’ll skyrocket past your competition.

It's simple but it can be scary. It's up to you if you’re going to let that stop you.

Here's some reading to get you started:

Action Step: 

Push yourself 1 step outside your comfort zone.

Write down a list things that make you nervous socially and rank them from least scary to most scary. These can be as small as making eye contact or as big as doing a standup routine. Make plans to do the least scary things.

You do that and you’ll be on your way to social success.

That’s a wrap!

See you next Friday,

— Justus Bosch

Before you go:

P.S. In what area of life do you feel your lack of social skills is getting in the way?