From Marj on Friendster:

Firstborn and only children are more likely to succeed in school and work than others.

At least, that is what's sure to be the controversial conclusion from Thomas K. Connellan's new book, "Bringing out the Best in Others! 3 Keys for Business Leaders, Educators, Coaches and Parents."

Why? Connellan maintains that parents treat firstborns and onlies differently than they do other children by doing these three things:

Setting higher expectations
Demanding greater accountability
Providing more feedback

Turns out these are the very factors we need to be successful in life.

Before you start yelling, "That's not fair!" think about this: Half of all U.S. presidents were firstborns. So are two-thirds of entrepreneurs and two-thirds of the people listed in "Who's Who." Twenty-one of the first 23 astronauts were firstborn. Of the female world leaders between 1960 and 1999, 45 percent were firstborn. A 10-year study of 1,500 superior Wisconsin ninth-graders showed that 49 percent of them were firstborn. But just one-third of the population is firstborn.

How can this be? Because of all the parental attention they get, firstborns have the confidence to dream big--and turn those dreams into a reality. First-borns just feel intuitively that they will be respected and supported no matter what they do. They are high-achievers who set goals and have a great sense of responsibility. They pay attention to rules and details. They are conscientious, well-organized, and respect authority. They're perfectionists.

Meanwhile, only children are confident, self-assured, organized, ambitious, logical, and scholarly. They make lists. Give an only child a task to do and it will be done thoroughly. Onlies trust their own opinions and make decisions well. They are wonderful problem-solvers. Without siblings, they tend to model themselves after their parents so even by first grade they can be perceived by some as "little adults."

Connellan told Orlando Sentinel reporter Aline Mendelsohn that firstborns and onlies DO have an edge in society. But here's the good news: If parents would treat each child as if he or she were born first in the family, more people would be successful.

Higher Expectations: Parents expect firstborns and onlies to act more mature than their age and hold them more accountable for what they do. It's the old "You should know better than that!" syndrome. Guess what? Kids live up to their parents expectations.

Greater Accountability: Connellan acknowledges that accountability can be harsh--especially for kids. It "can mean a brutal assessment of someone," he told the Orlando Sentinel in an interview. But "failure is a profound way of learning," he adds. "Sometimes kids need to learn how to fail."

Feedback: Every parent knows this instinctively: The firstborn is the guinea pig. Parents learn how to be parents with their firstborn. This is a good thing for the child since it provides him or her with more constructive and consistent feedback than subsequent children in the family are likely to receive.

Like it or not, your birth order can help mold your personality and in many significant ways determine the kind of person you become. If Connellan is right, though, the advantages firstborns and onlies enjoy may not be inherently theirs alone.

--Cathryn Conroy

I object!

Then again, I'm the youngest (out of two) so I refuse to believe that I won't be "successful" nor ridiculously rich, if I want to. Every person makes his/her own destiny, regardless of birth.

And this is really ironic coz I was planning this whole my-wish-for-success blog entry and I read this from my Friendster Bulletin Board. See, I was just watching Discovery Channel's "Ticket To Indulgence" and the topic was luxury private jets (is that redundant or what? Of course a private jet is luxurious! Of course it's for luxury!) and it was just... wow. I think I'd want one of those I think that's just the ultimate sign of wealth, yknow? Like, anyone can have that hot 1-of-the-only-100-in-the-entire-world Ferrari or whatever ridiculously expensive car whose networth can feed a Third World Country for 10 years. But a jet? Wow. That's just... wow. I'd love to learn how to fly a plane (and a helicopter) as well as own one of each. That would just symbolize that I'm rolling in dough which is a really nice dream to have, doncha think? Hehehe

They were showing the interiors of private jets and it was sooo cool. I can imagine, yknow, kicking back with the dvd/cd player blaring and me playing cards with friends or something. Or having my family running around the plane like an overgrown flying house. I can give free rides to friends and family! I can drag people halfway around the world! "You wanna go to the States?" Sige ba! "I don't want to go shopping alone, wanna go with me to Paris?" Man... that'd be great. If I'm rich naman I'm not kuripot ah... I'll be making libre family and friends left and right, most likely coz I'm the type of person who, when bored, thinks about taking trips. And of course, I don't want to go alone, right? Hehehe

A small cessna/lear/something-else-that's-of-the-same-value-who's-name-I-forgot costs a few million dollas. About 8 million, except that it's small (only good for short domestic flights) and can only fit in 8 people. Off the top of my head, I've got too many friends to fit on all that. We're 13 in my HS barkada (kinda down to... uh... about 9 who really keep in touch nowadays)... 9 college barkada, and 5 med barkada. So, really, a small plane just won't do. But a big plane... Boeng 747-type of planes... Oooh... good for long international flights (hello America! hello Europe!) where I can drag my entire family (extended included) and all my friends.

oooooOOOOOooooo

Kaso nga lang... $14M just for the interior... so I'm thinking that I'm looking at, say, $30M, especially with the design I have in mind (2 bedrooms, definitely; game room, beautiful bathroom, library).

Yeeeaaaah. Right. I'll probably have it when I'm, say, 80? Hahahaha If at all.

Perhaps that's dreaming too high. Perhaps it'll never come true. But when I dream, I'd like to reach for the stars...

So I guess I really should study reeeaaaally hard, right?