1. Ask yourself what you really want? Will you be satisfied with passing grades as long as you graduate, and get some sort of job or do you want something more? Are you willing to make major changes in your life to make sure these things happen? This is decision time. What kind of decisions do you need to make?
Success will never be a big step in the future; success is a small step take just now.2. Begin with a vision of your future. What do you want and plan to achieve? Set long-term goals for yourself. Find a cause, something you are passionate about, something you are committed to. Define your purpose in life. Have a dream. Get a notebook and describe your vision.
—Jonatan Martensson
Vision without action is merely a dream. Action without vision just passes the time. Visions with action can change the world! — Joel Arthur Barker3. Think seriously about your vision, cause, purpose or dream. That’s just the beginning. Dreams don’t come true by themselves. What decisions will you need to make in order to reach your dream, to make your vision a reality?
Don’t let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do. — Author Unknown4. This entire website will suggest many possible decisions. Learn new Study Skills, Organize your time, and learn new strategies. Add to your notebook a list of decisions you make. Do not say “I will try to…” or “I should…” Decide to do these things. Write “I will…” Be as specific as you can.
Think like a man of action, act like a man of thought. — Henri Bergson5. Act on your decisions. Create a plan.
Take a calendar and list things you plan to work on, week by week:
Create and follow a study schedule.
Learn how to improve reading skills and begin practicing.
Avoid parties where most people end up drunk. This reduces motivation. Your time is better used for other tasks.
Finish each day writing in your notebook. Describe the steps you took toward your goal. What will you do tomorrow?
In the dim background of our mind we know what we ought to be doing but somehow we cannot start. — William James6. Choose friends whose goals are similar to yours, friends who will support and encourage you. They might even offer helpful advice. People who laugh and belittle your efforts are not real friends. Be persistent, even stubborn. Believe in yourself. Keep reminding yourself you really can do this. Never give up
Be who you are and say what you feel because those you mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind. — Dr. Seuss
7. Jesse Jackson said “If my mind can conceive it and my heart can believe it, I know I can achieve it.”
You might use this or other quotes that you find inspirational. Put them on your bulletin board. Write them inside the covers of your notebooks, put them where you will read them often.
We cannot do everything at once, but we can do something at once. — Calvin Coolidge
