A friend recently left a comment that really stuck with me. She was feeling a lot of anxiety about her child's future.
She said she understands the kinds of skills needed to adapt and find opportunities in our new economy. But her child is still in elementary school, and frankly, isn't "book smart." She's tried everything—new study methods, private tutors—but the grades just aren't there. A top-tier university isn't likely.
Her question was simple and profound: "My child isn't the only one. What can we focus on now, during these school years, that will be guaranteed to be useful for his future, even if he's not an 'A' student?"
This is a heavy question, and it's one parents worldwide worry about. I’m not an education expert. I’m a CEO and an investor. So, I’m going to answer this from a CEO's perspective—looking at what qualities actually determine a person's success.
TL;DR
- The "Understanding-Doing Gap": The biggest hurdle to success isn't a lack of knowledge. It's the gap between understanding what to do and being able to do it.
- Action Isn't a "Mindset": We often fail to act not because of weak willpower, but because of weak physicality. Your brain can say "go," but a body under-prepared for stress (like a CPU overheating) will "auto-throttle" and shut you down.
- The Solution is Training: The only way to close the "Understanding-Doing Gap" is through consistent, physical training.
- The Real #1 Subject: For a child who isn't "book-smart," the single most important subject isn't math or coding. It's Physical Education. The energy, resilience, and willpower built through physical fitness is the foundational platform for all future success.
Why We "Understand" But Fail to "Do"
In my career, I've seen countless smart people understand a winning strategy but fail to execute it.
Years ago, during a period of wild market panic, I explained to my team and partners why our core strategy was sound. The logic was simple: the underlying productivity was strong, so the panic was temporary. Everyone in the room nodded. They understood.
And yet, many of them panicked. They sold low. They bailed. Months later, when the market recovered just as the logic predicted, my inbox was full of messages: "I'm so angry at myself. I listened to you, I agreed with you. Why didn't I just do it?"
They didn't fail because they were stupid. They failed because understanding and doing are two completely different functions.
I see this constantly. I'll lay out a clear strategic opportunity. People hear it. They get it. But they hesitate. They wait. By the time the results are in and they see "Oh, he was right," the opportunity is gone.
The most common question I get is: "I understand the logic. Why can't I make myself act?"
My "Aha!" Moment: The 5,000-Meter Run
I'll tell you the answer, and it comes from my own failure.
Growing up, I was terrible at sports. In middle school, our P.E. final was a 5,000-meter run. The time to get a perfect score was 18:00. To pass, you needed 20:00. To just get any points, you needed 22:30.
I always finished around 25:30. I failed every single time.
I tried to "hack" it. I’d read that ginseng boosts energy, so before one exam, I swallowed an entire packet of ginseng capsules, way over the recommended dose. I imagined myself as a movie hero, full of explosive energy.
The gun went off. I still finished at 25:30.
My brain was screaming, "Go faster!" But my body wouldn't respond. My heart was pounding out of my chest, and my legs felt like lead. It was an involuntary slowdown.
My brain was writing checks, but my body couldn't cash them. It was like a CPU overheating—it doesn't matter how hard you hit the keyboard; the computer is going to throttle itself to survive.
This problem was unsolvable for me as a kid. Then, more than a decade later, I started running. Just 2 kilometers a day on a treadmill. I wasn't trying to be an athlete; I just did it.
After a few months of this training, I went back and ran that 5,000-meter test out of curiosity. I passed it. Easily.
The Bridge from "Knowing" to "Doing" is Training
Here’s the simple, obvious principle:
My failure as a kid wasn't a failure of knowledge or willpower. Taking more ginseng didn't help. My failure was a lack of training. My body's physical capacity was so low that it hit its redline instantly.
My success as an adult wasn't because I "listened" to a new idea. It was the direct result of 90 days of training.
This is the secret. This is the answer to the parent's question.
The gap between "hearing" and "doing" is not closed by hearing it again, louder. It is closed by training.
You can't train if you have no energy. You can't be resilient in business if you've never trained your body to be resilient.
This is why, as a CEO, I believe Physical Education should be the #1 subject in school. It’s not just about muscles. It’s about building:
- Stamina: The pure physical energy to execute tasks.
- Resilience: The mental grit that comes from pushing your physical limits.
- Willpower: The "doing" muscle that is built through daily, consistent action.
Look at the highest performers in any field, from Wall Street traders to Silicon Valley engineers. So many of them are incredibly fit. This isn't a coincidence. They have the physical capacity to handle the stress of execution and to train their minds for hours on end.
I built my own career on this knowledge. I knew I didn't have the physical stamina of a marathoner. I knew I couldn't survive 30 years as a frontline coder. My whole strategy was to run fast, learn faster, and get to a senior/executive position—a strategic role—as quickly as possible. I had to become the "old, smart wolf" who directs the "young, strong wolves" because I knew my own physical energy reserves were my bottleneck.
It's All Energy
In the end, the world runs on the conservation of energy.
If you want money (which is a form of stored energy), you must provide value. To provide value, you need wisdom, skill, and the ability to execute.
Wisdom and execution are also forms of energy. Where do you get that energy?
You get it from your body. To be precise, your liver.
To the parent who asked the question: If your child has boundless physical energy, they can always train. They can always learn. They can always pivot. An 60-year-old with the fitness of a 30-year-old (like the famous Actor) can start a new career and succeed.
But if they're 30 with the energy of an 60-year-old, the game is already over.
So, what to focus on? The answer is clear. For a child who struggles with books, the single greatest, most high-return investment you can make in their future is to build their physical energy, strength, and resilience.
That is the platform for everything else.
