John McGrath flunked his HSC with a score of 95 out of 500, but is now worth $80 million

AS nervous teens await their Year 12 results, John McGrath recalls the crushing moment he discovered he’d flunked. Here’s how be bounced back.

Millionaire: My dreams all went to s**t

ON this day each year, as thousands of nervous school leavers await their HSC results, millionaire realtor John McGrath feels a sick sensation in the pit of his stomach.

It was many moons ago now when the then 18-year-old received his score, after six years of study at Sydney Boys High School, and discovered he had convincingly flunked the exam.

“I did very poorly on the HSC, with a result of 95 out of 500, which is pretty embarrassing,” McGrath recalls.

Tricky position ... after his HSC result, John McGrath couldn’t land even the most basic of jobs and faced a difficult road. Picture: Supplied

“I certainly wasn’t stupid, but I didn’t apply myself at school. I was good at sports and that’s all I focused on. I couldn’t see how math and science would apply to me in the future.”

The gifted footballer figured he could fall back on his sporting ability, until serious injury forced a premature end to that ambition.

He was distraught, had no direction and couldn’t land even the most basic of jobs thanks to his poor score.

“I was petrified. I had a very clear idea of how life was going to be and that dream went to absolute sh*t overnight. I felt horrible about the world and it took months to pick myself up.”

Wealthy company ... John is a star of upcoming Ten series Shark Tank, alongside fellow millionaire entrepreneurs Naomi Simson, Andrew Banks, Janine Allis and Steve Baxter. Picture: Richard Dobson

He did, and 32 years on the McGrath Estate Agents founder has a personal worth of an estimated $80 million, with various side business interests and a burgeoning media career.

After several years as the resident real estate guru on The Block, he has now jumped ship to Channel Ten to star in upcoming reality series Shark Tank, which puts entrepreneurs in front of some of the most successful faces in business to ask for their investment.

McGrath and his four fellow sharks have a combined wealth of nearly $1 billion.

It’s a far cry from the state he found himself in after school. Some youngsters may experience a similar fate today, receiving a HSC outcome that’s not what they hoped.

Try again ... when you fall down, John McGrath says it’s important to get back up and keeping going.

The good news is that it’s not the end of the world, McGrath said.

“I was getting knocked back again and again for jobs because the boss would ask what I got on the HSC and then swiftly show me the door.

“I eventually found someone who backed me and I pledged to work my backside off to prove myself, to make that score irrelevant. It’s hard to pull yourself back up, but you simply have to.”

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His turning point came with a visit to a careers advisory centre for the unemployed. After a few interviews, a consultant suggested real estate.

Key to success ... John’s professional philosophy is one that combines strategy, discipline, passion and intuition, he says.

McGrath landed a job in a small, no-frills agency in Paddington but a chance encounter set him on the path to success — and fortune.

“Five years after I started in real estate, a guy from Perth I knew well rang me and said someone had asked him to sell a house in Point Piper. He couldn’t do it, so he introduced me.

“I was very nervous. What did I know about that area? I hadn’t sold anything worth much. I was a rookie. But I went, I backed myself and I got the listing.”

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At just 24, he sold the mansion for $11.2 million, which smashed all sales records at the time. It put the young upstart realtor on everyone’s radar and he went off to start his own business.

Sliding doors ... John says he worked hard until his moment to prove himself — his big shot that saw him list and sell a house that broke all sales records. Picture: Richard Dobson

It was his “sliding doors” moment — the turning point that changed everything. It’s an opportunity he never would’ve had, if not for that decision at 18 to get up and try again.

“Life is all about falling over. You’ve got to get back up. For all of us, you’ve got to keep going until that game change moment, that one shot to make a difference.”

Shark Tank begins on Channel Ten in early 2015.