Book Feature: The Straight A Handbook

 

ABOUT THE BOOK In The Straight A Handbook: The 50 Most Powerful Secrets For Ultimate Success In And Out Of The Classroom, Dr. Chuback shares the skills, techniques, and philosophies which are the key to success in school, work, and life. Drawing from his unusually lengthy and rigorous academic experience, which led to a challenging, but equally rewarding career, Dr. Chuback brings a rare expertise to the subject of academic excellence and the inner growth of the individual. Almost everything taught in these pages are ideas and lessons which arose from real life experiences which he encountered on his journey to becoming a successful surgeon, entrepreneur, and inventor. The essential message is that these are proven and reproducible steps that will help anyone ascend great heights. It is Dr. Chuback’s belief that if one were to master even 10 of the 50 skills outlined in this book, a student’s success would not only be extremely likely, but practically inevitable. Chuback has used these techniques with his 3 children; two of whom are currently working to receive a law degree and one of whom graduates from high school this May.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR John A. Chuback, M.D., is board certified in General Surgery and Cardiovascular Surgery. He received his M.D. from Rutgers University and has been in private practice in New Jersey for 18 years. Dr. Chuback practiced open heart surgery for the first 6 years of his career and then made a paradigm shift and focused on laser treatment of varicose vein disease. He is the Chief Medical Officer at Chuback Medical Group, and founder of VitasupportMD, a nutraceutical company which produces dietary supplements to support good health. He is also a patent holding inventor and visual artist. He is the recipient of many honors and awards in the field of medicine and surgery and created Chuback Education which offers programs on weight management, smoking cessation, personal development, and academic achievement. He is the author of Make Your Own Damn Cheese: Understanding, Navigating, and Mastering the 3 Mazes of Success, and his newest book, The Straight A Handbook: The 50 Most Powerful Secrets For Ultimate Success In And Out Of The Classroom

How to eat an Elephant

Excerpt from The Straight A Handbook: The 50 Most Powerful Secrets For Ultimate Success In And Out Of The Classroom 

One of my favorite questions is “How do you eat an elephant?” The answer is simple… “One bite at a time.” This is one of the most important concepts for the student to grasp. For example, if the student desires to learn a foreign language, like it or not, it’s a big job and it cannot be accomplished over night. A new language is big—actually it’s huge—like an elephant. One must be patient and disciplined. But where should one begin? Well, in fact one usually begins with the basics, right? Perhaps a few simple phrases like “hello,” “goodbye,” “How are you?,” “My name is John,” etc. Maybe we start at an even more rudimentary level like learning each individual letter of the alphabet…A, B, C, D, etc. Wow, that’s a daunting task! How on Earth will I ever be able to truly express my feelings and opinions in a completely foreign tongue? It seems an almost impossible task. But the reality is that you can’t swallow an elephant whole and you can’t swallow French or German or calculus or physics or chemistry whole either. Those are just the facts. The sooner you accept the facts for what they are, the sooner you can begin the long ascent to the top of the academic ladder.

Being a great student requires patience and perseverance. Each day we read a few more pages of a given subject; we attend another lecture; we practice a handful of problems, etc. This is how it is done, one bite at a time. It takes years of hard work and study to become a learned individual. Anyone who tries to sell you a book on tips, tricks, gimmicks, and shortcuts for being a great student is either trying to put one over on you or doesn’t know what they are talking about. Now don’t get me wrong, this doesn’t mean that being a great learner is difficult, because it’s not. All of us can read, and if you can do that, you can learn anything. You just have to set aside the time every day to do your work, do your reading, and finish your assignments. If you don’t quit and you stick with that process every day, year after year, with time you’ll be speaking that second language at a business meeting on the other side of the world. It all begins with the first big bite!