Austin Scholar #49: How Your Kid Can Strategize Their Way To Their Dream Life
(What Everyone Can Learn From Boston Rob)
Hey, y'all!
Getting good grades and studying hard is helpful advice for high schoolers. But so is being a risk taker, putting your family first, and fighting like an underdog.
Some of the best advice I've ever found for navigating high school (and life) has come–not from academics–but from a Survivor champion.
But I'm getting ahead of myself.
This week from Austin Scholar...
Austin’s Anecdote: How Boston Rob Taught Me To Make Friends
How Your Kid Can Strategize Their Way To Their Dream Life (What Everyone Can Learn From Boston Rob)
My Favorite Clips of Boston Rob in Action
So, big news: I’m scheduled to take the SAT in March. This past weekend, I got 1550 (my goal!) on a practice test. And you know something funny? I consistently score better in the math sections than in the writing section. I literally write for at least two hours every single day, yet it’s my weakest section on the SAT.
Anyway, in preparation for March, I’m going to be watching a lot of Khan Academy videos, doing practice IXL questions, and scrolling through hundreds of “here’s how to solve the hardest SAT problem” TikTok videos. Wish me luck.
Austin’s Anecdote: How Boston Rob Taught Me To Make Friends
My idol, the person I try to emulate most in my everyday life, is Boston Rob.
You might know Boston Rob as someone who played the perfect game of Survivor or as a ruthless Amazing Race contestant.
Or maybe you know him as a master manipulator: someone who will lie, cheat, and steal his way to his goals.
Um, Austin? Why would someone like that be your idol?
Well, Boston Rob flawlessly used these tactics to win Survivor–and come first in seven legs of The Amazing Race, meet his wife, and form long-lasting friendships.
I can definitely learn from someone like that, especially on the social aspects.
As many of you already know, I’m a huge introvert. I’ve always had trouble understanding and navigating social interactions–and I always end up overthinking them.
But as I watched Boston Rob's seasons of Survivor and The Amazing Race, I studied what made him so good at dealing with other people.
When Rob forms alliances and makes plans with other people, his approach always has two things in common: he gives consistent, undercover compliments and he makes others think his idea was their own.
The subsequent alliances have been pretty successful, if I’m being honest. People want to work with him and his plans usually end up being carried out.
So, I’ve tried to start doing those two things in my own conversations.
I try my best to compliment my friends every day so they associate me with feeling good about themselves. And I’ve been working on planting little seeds of an idea into their minds, so when they come up with a brilliant idea of what to do on the weekend, it’s what I want to do.
Is it kind of manipulative? Yes.
Are my friendships already improving? Also yes.
Boston Rob has so many other pieces of fantastic, actionable advice that can completely change your high schooler’s life. Let me share some of my favorites.
How Your Kid Can Strategize Their Way To Their Dream Life (What Everyone Can Learn From Boston Rob)
Boston Rob wrote the only life advice book your kid will ever need, The Boston Rob Rulebook: Strategies for Life.
His rulebook covers everything from achieving goals to forming relationships. The tools Boston Rob used to win Survivor and build his dream life can help your teen find theirs.
Here are Rob’s 19 most impactful lessons, adapted for high schoolers: