The man who passed by one mark

John Lloyd was, by his own admission, useless at mathematics. He made it to university, tried to study Law. In a recent interview, he told James O’Brien he got a terrible degree, which he “passed by one mark or something like that.” He then decided to do something he enjoyed and thought he could be good at: writing jokes. 

John Lloyd won a UK television lifetime achievement award at the age of 38.

If you are familiar with British television in the 1980s and 90s, his CV reads like the wiring diagram of modern comedy. Not the Nine O’Clock News was the preview; then came the greatest hits: Spitting Image and Blackadder. He made Britain laugh, think, and occasionally spit out its tea.

I’m writing about John Lloyd today to make this point: your beginning is not your end. So many of us get written off early in life. Parents and teachers give up on us. Friends laugh behind our backs. We lose faith in ourselves.

School can make you look wrong; yet you can build a career entirely out of things that school barely measures.

Speaking personally, both my education and early career tipped me for seemingly great things. The problem? The recommended path was the highway: solid, well-travelled, predictably reassuring. My issue? Highways offer no scenery, no real adventure. And so I tried repeatedly to take off-road detours, before I finally managed it in my thirties.

Before you take this as advice to do the same, beware. I can confirm that scenic routes include wrong turns, breakdowns, and ending up in ditches. The scenic route is not fulfilling because it’s painless; it’s worth it because it’s yours.

Two thoughts.

First: the real villain isn’t early failure; it’s early labelling. “Bad at maths” does not mean “not smart.” “Mediocre degree” does not mean “lacks potential.” The system forces an early guess about the future of each student; but those are guesses, not verdicts. Lloyd’s story shows how absurd those verdicts can be.

Schooling is a sorting machine with blunt instruments. It measures obedience, memory, and exam temperament. It measures your ability to sit still on your seat even when your gaze keeps drifting to the sky outside. Who might look very average inside this machine? Comedy writers. Also founders and dealmakers who actually build the livelihoods of others. Nurses, therapists, and carers who do human repairs. Coaches and mentors who light fires in other people. Project managers and event organisers who can herd cats without anyone noticing. UX and CX people who translate between humans and machines.

Second: John Lloyd did not “discover” his calling. He moved towards something he enjoyed, yes; but he also took on something he could get better at. Enjoyment is just the spark; the fuel that keeps you going is improvement. Most talents are not found by introspection; they are developed out in the world. You find them by doing the work—and the reps.

The world is full of adults still living inside someone else’s early assessment, still chasing approval, still looking for gold stars awarded by others. The real grown-up move is to become your own examiner: set tasks, test yourself, gather evidence, adjust.

Conversely, I have met many early achievers who are still addicted to external validation, decades later. They are prisoners of applause; they live for awards and ovations, which they achieve by playing the game tightly and never taking a scenic detour, ever.

The take-home: your early labels are not your identity. Applause is not proof of a life well lived. We do best when we find the work that pulls us forward and then makes us put in a real grind. Some will stay on the highway and win medals. Fine. But if you suspect there’s a different road with your name on it, put your hands on the wheel and take the rough roads for a while. And if you end up in a ditch, climb out with data, not self-derision. 

THE SIGNAL IN THE NOISE

Your beginning is just a first draft. Rewrite by doing, not by wishing. The only verdict that matters is the one your work earns over time.

 

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