“If life came with a report card you’d be bringing home straight A’s.”
- Back of a brochure for a 1998 Toyota Camry

Don’t ask why I was reading a brochure for a 1998 Toyota Camry – the point is I really liked the statement on the back. Right now its mid-term at the college where I teach. Mid-term grades let students know just how they are doing in a class. All too often mid-term grades serve as a wake-up call to students that its time to get serious and really put forth some effort if they to get a good grade.

What if life came with a report card? I think it is an interesting concept. On what subjects would we be graded? Well let me give you some thoughts about

Relationships – How is your relationship with your spouse/significant other? Can you talk to them about anything? Think about the people who are most important to you. Do you know what problems they are facing in their lives? What, if anything, are you doing to help them? Have you formed any new friendships lately?

Health – How’s your blood pressure? How’s your cholesterol? Can you walk up one or more flights of steps without getting winded? If you had to pull yourself up through a hole in your roof, like the people in New Orleans, could you do it? How big would the hole need to be? Afterwards would you be able to help someone else up?

Finances – How many steps are you away from becoming a millionaire? How many steps are you away from being bankrupt? Honestly, which end of the spectrum are you closest to right now? Which end of the continuum are you moving towards?

Employment – are you really making a contribution? If you are an employee are you making a significant contribution to the bottom line? If you own your own business, is your business making a contribution to your customers?

History – are you repeating your own history or are you learning lessons from your past? Are you one of the many people who say, “Same Stuff, Different Day”? Do you find yourself trying to solve the same problem(s) you had last month, or do you have a new set of problems? I have a friend who once told me that in life you will have 87 problems. Once you solve one of your problems a new one will replace it - so you can maintain the appropriate number of problems. If you do not solve your problems, you get to keep them until they are resolved and can be replaced with new problems.

Education – There is a line from the John Wayne movie “The Sands of Iowa Jima” in which John Wayne’s character states, “Life is hard, its harder when you’re stupid.” The easiest way to keep from being stupid is to keep learning. One of the best ways to learn is through reading books. I keep busy teaching night classes, but I also learn a lot from teaching those classes. I learn things from the books used in class, I learn from other instructors, and I even learn from my students.

Lets face it, if you are not happy with your grade in any of the areas listed above you probably could use a little education in those areas. Maybe you need a book about relationships, or money management. Maybe you need to learn a new skill for your job or business.

Grade yourself honestly, but not too harshly. Then realize this is just a mid-term grade. Sit down and figure out where you are and what you will have to do in order to get the grade you really want. That’s called setting goals and making plans to achieve those goals. (There are a lot of books and tapes on those subjects if you want to learn more about them!)

For what its worth, remember that you don’t need straight As to end up on the Dean’s List.