Maximize Your College Experience : Get the Most Out of Your College Experience for Success Now and In the Future. Timothy Skjellerup
I had an opportunity to return to school. I came back to Mohawk Valley part time and took Math 050 (for the fourth time) and macroeconomics, both at night. I applied the success principles that I was learning from my new reading and listening regime, and I ended up getting an A in both classes.
It was then that I realized that I was capable of achieving whatever I put my mind to.
So realization number two is…
You are capable of achieving whatever you put your mind to.
This insight opened up a whole new world of possibilities to me; before this I was afraid to expect too much from myself.
I was scared to set high goals out of fear of not attaining them, but I began to realize that if I had nothing to aim for, I was just shooting blind and spinning my wheels. Don’t be afraid to expect excellence from yourself. Once you realize that the sky is the limit, you will become unstoppable.
You are an extraordinary and irreplaceable human being. You are capable of greatness. At the present moment, your belief system may not align with this statement, and, as discussed earlier, this could be for any number of reasons. You may have been criticized as a child by parents or teachers. You may have had all of your ideas shot down or may have been told that you are stupid or worthless. Regardless of all this, the fact still stands that you are a remarkable creation capable of creating extraordinary results in all areas of your life. All you have to do is decide that you can do it.
“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.”
—Eleanor Roosevelt
Oftentimes in life we want to step out and try something new. We decide to try a new sport, join a club, go to college, start a reading regimen, start a small business, or start living a healthier lifestyle. We make the decision and we then go and tell the people who are the closest to us. We tell our family and friends, expecting them to be as excited as we are. We expect them to embrace our new idea and support us wholeheartedly. But all too often we find them rejecting our ideas and trying to talk us out of any positive change. They say things like,
“Why in the world would you want to do that? Don’t risk it. I know a guy who did that and he fell flat on his face.”
Or,
“Oh! Here he goes again…let’s see how long this one lasts. Remember the last time you tried something new? You failed and everyone laughed. Do you want to be the laughingstock again?”
I find it comical how some people can become instant experts on a subject that they know nothing about as soon as you say you’re interested in it. They become quick to tell you that you “can’t afford it” or that you “could never get into that college” or it’s impossible to achieve _________ (insert whatever your new goal may be).
What I have found is that people who instantly reject your ideas of improving yourself or your life situation are scared, jealous, or both. They are scared that you will achieve something more than they are achieving, they are afraid that you are going to make them look bad, and they are afraid that you are going to leave them behind. They may also be afraid that you are going to hurt yourself. Many parents try to extinguish their children’s dreams in order to “protect them from themselves.”
“If you believe yourself worthy of the thing you fought so hard to get, then you become an instrument of God, you help the soul of the world, and you understand why you are here.”
—Unknown
Let’s take my girlfriend, Alicia, for example. She is one of the best nurses in the country. She has a broad array of experience and expertise. She is amazing with patients, and the doctors love having her on their team. Prior to taking a position as a clinical educator training other nurses, she worked at one of the best pediatric trauma centers in the United States and thrived. She is living her passion to help others, and she is continuing to master her craft.
When Alicia went to college and declared her major as nursing, she excitedly called her mother to tell her about the decision. Her mother was a little apprehensive, and over the next four years she sent her random articles about how nurses were overworked and underpaid. She would ask her daughter subtle questions, like, “Are you sure you’re not too emotional or sensitive to do that kind of work? Won’t you get too attached to your patients and be devastated when they get sick or don’t survive?” Or sometimes she’d come right out and ask her about going into education to be a teacher like she had always talked about when she was growing up, or ask her point blank if she “was sure” about her career choice. Was this loving mother afraid that her daughter was going to outdo her? Was she maliciously trying to keep her daughter from following her passion?
Of course not… She was merely trying to protect her daughter the best way she knew how.
You see, Alicia’s mother was not a nurse, but she had heard that nurses worked long hours and often had to work overnights. She heard that nurses had a high burnout rate and that the job was highly stressful. She heard that nurses saw some horrific sights and dealt with some terrible diseases. She also heard that nurses sometimes made mistakes and got sued. So, as a result of all this, she would send her daughter articles about all of the negative parts of a nursing career and would randomly drop her hints to consider changing her major.
Luckily for Alicia and thousands of patients and their families across the United States, she decided to ignore her mother’s warning and continue following her passion. Although many of Alicia’s mother’s fears and concerns were real, and Alicia will tell you that working in a pediatric trauma center as a nurse can be extremely difficult, the rewards far exceed the risks. And her mother also realized this to be the case and still tells her to this day how very proud she is of all she has accomplished in her career.
“Everyone wants to see you get ahead, just not ahead of them.”
—Unknown
Some people who are quick to tell you that something can’t be done are just plain jealous. They don’t want to see you succeed out of fear of looking bad themselves. Robert Kiyosaki, in his book Rich Dad Poor Dad (which I highly recommend), tells a story about crabs that he and his friends would collect on the beaches of Hawaii and put in a bucket. After a while, one crab would hook a claw over the edge of the bucket and pull himself up enough to see freedom over the edge of the bucket. At just about the same time, the rest of the crabs in the bucket would grab hold of the one crab trying to escape and pull it back down, sealing its doom. I have found that people are oftentimes a lot like these crabs. When they see you trying to pull yourself up out of a negative situation, they seem to take it personally, and they do whatever they can to try and keep you down.
In times like these when people start feeding you negative thoughts, there are two words that I want you to get in the habit of saying…
Watch me!
When someone tells you that something can’t be done or that you are not smart enough, good enough, disciplined enough, rich enough, or whatever enough, simply say, “Watch me!” and end the conversation. Then quietly and confidently take action on whatever it is that you are going to do, and don’t give up until you have achieved victory.
I can specifically remember a good many times when I had to say “Watch me!” to many of my so-called friends. One time in particular I remember was when I was working up in the Adirondack Mountains for a construction company as a laborer. I had just gotten out of the Marine Corps and I had the GI educational benefits available to me. I remember one sunny day sitting around at lunchtime on the front deck of a half-built house. The conversation was the usual, about four-wheelers, sports, hunting, and how miserable everyone was and what they would do if they won the lottery. At a natural pause in the conversation, I mentioned the fact that I was thinking about going back to college part time for a degree in business. Wow! You would have thought that I said that I was going to go sign up to be an Al-Qaeda terrorist. I was faced with a barrage of put-downs, insults, and overall negativity.