When you’re in high school or college, your main academic goal is to have a GPA (grade point average) of 4.0.

That’s a great strategy for getting good grades. However, the skills that help you become a 4.0 student in school actually work against you in life. Here are three reasons why.

First, 4.0 students are great at following rules. You can only get perfect grades when you do exactly what the teacher says. This is only valuable if the teacher knows what they’re doing or is teaching you something that’s relevant in the real world.

Second, 4.0 students have picked up the unfortunate habit of living for the validation and applause of others. They feel like losers unless they get recognition from teachers, peers, Academic Deans, or a scholarship committee.

Third, 4.0 students love competition. The whole idea of a GPA and Dean’s List is to rank people based on their performance. This inflates the ego of the students who have obsessed over their grades, and unfairly punishes students who aren’t wired to learn in a traditional classroom setting.

I enjoyed my years as a college professor, but I also saw firsthand the shortcomings of traditional school. Let’s be honest: the academic system is designed to reward students who enjoy school.

4.0 students may get all the scholarships, awards, and academic recognition from their teachers. But those skills are not so valuable in the real world.

To become a successful writer and business person, you need to think for yourself, be willing to break the rules when needed (or, just create your own!), validate your own success, and seek out collaboration opportunities with great people.

Those skills might lead to failure in the classroom, but they’re exactly what you need to become a 4.0 student in the school of life.

Today’s Challenge: Let’s put what you’ve learned here into practice. Think about another author your respect in your social circle. Shoot them a text or email today asking if you can have a quick chat about some ways you can collaborate.