Gad Saad

I think predominantly it's really a punishing cultural of excellence.

And if you want, I can share a story from my own personal background.

And I don't know if I've ever shared it on this show.

So I did my undergraduate in mathematics and computer science, pretty serious stuff.

Then I did an MBA, both at top universities.

Then I was going on to pursue my MS, master's of science, and PhD.

One of the places that I had been accepted for my PhD was at UC Irvine.

I ended up going to Cornell.

At the time, my brother, the judo player, was living in Newport Beach.

And he was keen to try to convince me after my MBA to work with him and put on hold going on for my PhD.

When my mother found out of his design to try to convince me not to pursue my PhD, when I returned to Montreal to their house, she says, can I speak to you in this room?

And I'm thinking, oh, am I in trouble?

She goes, I want to talk to you.

I said, what's up, mom?

She goes, I'm hearing that you're thinking of maybe putting your studies on hold.

I said, well, she goes, well, I just, before you say anything, do you want people to know you as somebody who dropped out of school?

So from now, that's a very powerful story because in my mother's eyes, having an MBA and then taking a break before I pursue a PhD was something that would bring shame to the family as someone who had dropped out of school.

Now, do you think that if a group of people have internalized that level of excellence, are they likely to be successful or not?

If another group of people thinks that getting good grades is acting white, is that a recipe for success or not, right?

So cultural values matter.