Life is Unfair, and What the Successful do about it.

 

 

“You have to do your own growing no matter how tall your grandfather was.”

–Abraham Lincoln

 

It is official: life is unfair. A lot of financial success is based on personal appearance.

For instance, research published in the Atlantic (May 18, 2015) confirms what many of us have long suspected: taller people are paid more.

According to one study in 2004, men and women, 6 feet tall can expect $166,000 more over the course of a 30-year career than someone 5 feet 5 inches. That is in 2004 dollars. The difference is much higher now. Understand that we are not talking about people who are smarter, harder working or more deserving in some way. Nope, they are just taller.

It gets worse. Attractive people are also paid more too according to most studies. And no, they are not smarter, harder working or more deserving either.

For our purposes, it helps to be taller and more attractive if you want to be successful. Even better, be both.

What follows is for the rest of us. Are we doomed to be led financially and socially by taller better looking, but possibly inferior beings? Do attractive know-nothings get more money, live happier lives and get to tell the rest of us what to do?

Yeah, probably.

It is hard to erase basic human instincts. Back in the caveman days, tall people became leaders because they were more able to defend others under attack and because they were more physically capable than the rest of the herd. Attractive people appear less threatening and better as partners for procreation. Like it or not, we gravitate toward people based on how they look.

So, it turns out we have not progressed beyond our hunter-gatherer social origins, no matter how much modern society says we have. And yes, in case you are wondering, I am below average in height. Not that I am bitter.

These facts are pretty disappointing because we want to think that hard work, planning and talent always win out. It turns out we are in a caveman/hunter-gatherer world still—even when the only remaining hunter-gatherer behavior is to go to the supermarket and hunt and gather in the produce and bread aisles.

When I ran across this information, it made me wonder. What good is writing a blog about financial success if 95% of the population will face automatic discrimination?

Fortunately, It turns out there is more to it than that. Much depends upon attitude, not genetics.

Scientists at the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Michigan (2004) took a second look at the data about tall people and their future salaries. They drew their data from studies in Britain and the US. They controlled their results for sex, race, family background and health to be sure that what they found could not be explained by other factors.

What they found was astonishing. It turns out that, only height at age 16 predicted wages in the 30s, or, in one other study, height within a general range at 16.

The explanation is that many tall people get a head start on social activity and leave the rest of us behind—many of us for all of the rest of our lives.

For those who want financial success, any of us, short, tall, fat, etc. the point is that you are only age 16 one year of your life and that one year should not dictate a whole life’s outcome.

However, many people fail to take action. That lead at age 16 in social skills by others who are taller can be erased by activities, practice and social skill development. For instance, Warren Buffett once took classes in public speaking because he knew it was not his strength. If you know you lack in social or communications skills because you were shut out in high school, it is possible to pick up the skills you lack later on.

Something else can help too. Like it or not, we are all judged on appearance—and not just the part of our appearance we do not control. It turns out that others judge us based on how physically fit we are. For instance, according to a study completed at Cornell University (2004), white females who put on an additional 64 pounds saw their wages drop 9%. Other research shows CEO’s who compete in marathons are judged to be more effective and efficient. And according to a study in the Journal of Experimental Psychology in 2014 attractive professional attire can improve job performance and productivity for both men and women.

So, it is a good idea to stay fit and dress well. Don’t make a mistake like Benjamin Graham, a legend on Wall Street, who occasionally wore one black shoe and one brown one. (When someone pointed out that he had, he noted that he had an identical pair at home).

 SUMMARY:

1. Life is unfair. Get over it.
2. Successes and failures at various points in your life should not define you.

ACTION STEPS:

1. Financial success has a fair amount to do with personal appearance so stay fit and dress well and professionally.
2. Leadership and success are based on social lessons—and those can be learned by taking classes, from others and by doing.
3. Act on your weaknesses. Take conversation and public speaking classes if you need to. If you need help with teamwork (for instance), educate yourself.

 

Disclaimer: consult with a financial professional before taking any steps outlined here. Not all advice is suitable for your circumstances or investment style.