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Being book smart will only get you so far...

Would you prefer to be book smart or have common sense? Book smart is someone who memorizes or studies really hard to gain knowledge about certain things. Common sense is generally someone with common knowledge, and pays attention to the obvious. People who are book smart tend to lack common sense because they gain most of their knowledge from a book. People with Common sense use their previous experiences to get through certain tasks.

My sentiments are being book smart will only get you so far, but common sense will get you everywhere. As I progress in my career and work with numerous personalities, I've noticed book smart people lack social skills which hinder them from advancement in their respective careers or they advance in their career and but find it difficult to navigate corporate politics. Therefore making it hard for them to do their jobs successfully.

Maybe i'm wrong, as I can only base my opinion from my experiences. I'm not book smart, yet i've excelled in a career I had no experience in from merely figuring things out. In college if we based our GPA off social skills and street smarts I would've graduated summa cum laude, but unfortunately it doesn't work that way. Being book smart got you on the Dean's list, the good internships which eventually led to the good jobs. With me and my average grades, common sense help me to navigate my way into the best social circles which led to the good internships which eventually led to the good jobs. Why work harder when working smarter benefits you just the same!

So question for you.. Why is common sense just not that common?

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