Street Smart

In this day and age, having street smarts seems to be increasing in importance compared to having book smarts. Catch phrases we see everyday include having "interpersonal skills" and having "high EQ" in addition to having high IQ. Research has shown that employers value "soft skills" over "hard skills" since hard skills can be taught while soft skills accumulate over many years of experience and conditioning, or perhaps are inherent in a person. In most contexts, academic excellence trail behind other qualities of a person in terms of desirability. Of course, there are always exceptions to general statements. In the case of book smarts, it definitely overrides street smarts in the academic arena which includes getting into the post-secondary institute of your choice, the courses of your choice or certain financial awards during the course of your studies; however, once you enter the less forgiving and more realistic society, will you soon discover that street smarts are what will get you further in life?