Maximize Your College Experience : Get the Most Out of Your College Experience for Success Now and In the Future. Timothy Skjellerup
defend my position for about an hour. What I should have done then, and have done since, is simply say, “Watch me!” and end the conversation.
I hope that this is not the response that you got when you told people that you are going to college. I hope that you were supported and encouraged for your decision to better yourself. But, if it was not, simply do your best to ignore and avoid the naysayers and negative people in your life. Say “Watch me!” and start moving forward toward your dream.
“You miss 100 percent of the shots you never take.”
—Wayne Gretzky
It doesn’t matter what other people think or say. If you have a dream, go for it. If you put your mind to something and you set it as a goal, develop a plan of action, and chase it as hard as you can, you will be successful. Whatever you do, don’t give up. Temporary setbacks can be seen as failures, but they’re not. They are only failures if you give up trying. Take your shot—you are capable and you are worth it.
I want to end this chapter with a poem that was shared with me early on in my pursuit of excellence. I hope you enjoy it:
It Couldn’t Be Done
By Edgar Guest
Somebody said that it couldn’t be done,
But, he with a chuckle replied
That “maybe it couldn’t,” but he would be one
Who wouldn’t say so till he’d tried.
So he buckled right in with the trace of a grin
On his face. If he worried he hid it.
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn’t be done, and he did it.
Somebody scoffed: “Oh, you’ll never do that;
At least no one has done it”;
But he took off his coat and he took off his hat,
And the first thing we knew he’d begun it.
With a lift of his chin and a bit of a grin,
Without any doubting or quiddit,
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn’t be done, and he did it.
There are thousands to tell you it cannot be done,
There are thousands to prophesy failure;
There are thousands to point out to you one by one,
The dangers that wait to assail you.
But just buckle it in with a bit of a grin,
Just take off your coat and go to it;
Just start to sing as you tackle the thing
That “couldn’t be done,” and you’ll do it.
From Collected Verse of Edgar Guest,
New York: Buccaneer Books, 1976, page 285
Action Exercise
Take some time now to brainstorm and think of some things that you would like to do during your college experience and in your life. These may be things that you have been afraid to tell other people about for fear of being rejected. Don’t get hung up on the practicality of what it is right now; just let your imagination run wild. Now is the time for creative thought. We will get to critical thinking, practicality, and planning later on. For now, just let the sky be the limit. Some examples of goals that I have heard are the following.
•Get a 4.0
•Be a research assistant
•Have a double major
•Avoid the freshman fifteen and loose fifteen
•Run a marathon
•Be the president of a club
•Join a fraternity or sorority
•Start a club
•Go on an expedition up Mount Everest
•Study abroad
•Go skydiving
•Write for the school paper
•Learn a second language
•Quit smoking
•Quit drinking
•Date a ten
•Play a sport
•Start a business
•Be the president of a fraternity or sorority
OK, you get the idea. Now write out some things that that you want to do or have always dreamed about doing.
What’s the Point?
1.You are capable of achieving whatever you put your mind to.
2.Don’t let others’ opinions determine your own reality.
3.Get in the habit of saying “Watch me!”
4.You have nothing to lose, so take your shot—go for it.
5.You haven’t failed until you have given up, so keep trying.
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