An empowerment coach and teacher of 20 years has shared the one thing that predicts a student's success in later life - and it's nothing to do with intelligence. Eliza VanCort, 51 is a teacher-turned-empowerment speaker and has taught acting to people of all ages from 16 and up. Eliza, from Manhattan, NYC, says she has noticed the number one factor which predicts a students' success in later life. She said it's nothing to do with intelligence, creativity, or even drive - but how your parents treated you in your early years. Sharing her view with over 250,000 TikTok followers, she said: "If there's one thing that predicted how somebody was going to do in their life, the level of success they have (...). "The one thing that mattered was did their parents value and encourage the thing the person was good at, even if it scared the parents? "So if the kid loves underwater basket weaving and the parents are like 'right on!' that person grows up, and finds a way to be really good. "They are the best damn underwater basket weaver and they figure out how to get paid [for it] because they love doing it. "If that person gets pushed into banking, they might be an ok banker, but they're always going to be miserable. "Someone who actually wanted to go into banking is going to do it a lot better than that." She added: "Even if it scares you, encourage your kids to do what they love. "If you do, they'll be ok." With the video garnering nearly 400,000 views, Eliza explained in more detail what she meant. The mum-of-four said parents discourage their child from taking a particular path to encourage a 'safer' career option. The parents do it because they believe it's the right thing to do for their child - but it's not as "safe" as they might think. Eliza, who released her best-selling book 'A Woman's Guide To Claiming Space' last year, said: "Often, as parents, we work from a place of fear so we do what we think is best. "Often that's encouraging children to go into a career option that it 'safe' - but it might not actually be the better option. "Even a job that leads to a monetarily sound life can leave a person unhappy. "What I have found is when someone really loves something, they'll work hard at it to make it possible to carry on doing it." Having worked with people across all ages, Eliza has seen people who took both paths in life. She said: "I hear both lines over and over again. "One type of person will say 'I'm so happy that my parents encouraged me to do this, even though most wouldn't because it's a risky career'. "The other type will say 'I'm financially sound, but I'm not happy because I'm doing something I don't like'." Eliza explained a person will work hard to make a career out of a passion they have because they won't want to give it up. Therefore even if it seems implausible, those who truly love what they do will find a way to make an income stream out of it. She said: "The reality is, we spend most of our lives at work. "If a person is forced into the wrong career, they'll be unhappy every working day of their life. "Parents who force their children into a safer option are confining them to a life of unhappiness. "If they don't like their career when the going gets tough, they won't cope, they'll just crumble." Eliza explained this is why we have a "culture of hobbies" - people who are miserable in their jobs will finish and then go and do the thing they should have pursued for their career. She said: "It doesn't matter the career, it just matters the person has the passion and drive to keep it going." Eliza added that while it sounds like something only people from privileged backgrounds can benefit from, it won't only apply to those people. Because she feels the emotional support parents give to their children - which costs nothing - will be more valuable to them than financial. She said: "You can have all the money in the world, but if your parents don't think you're worthy of their love, you won't make it."
