On my daily visit to CNN, I scrolled through this article about why Chinese students are flocking to Universities in the US. One quote really stood out for me that explains why Chinese students so often excel in school.

High standards and high expectations are the norm in China, not the exception, as is often the case in the United States.

High standards and high expectations must be the norm if you’re pursuing excellence regardless of whether we’re speaking of athletics, school, business, whatever. I can’t think of a time where I have ever thought I’d fail at anything and I don’t think that’s a matter of cockiness. It’s a high standard and high expectation.