Don't Assume You Can't Do It, Just Because Conventional Wisdom Say's You Can'tWritten by Josh Hinds
Be weary and leery when it comes to standardized tests and things of that nature that attempt to gauge your intelligence, aptitude, or ability to achieve at your given goal or dreams. Please don't misunderstand me, such things can and do have their place and even be quite effective in steering a person towards right career path, classes to take in college, or which educational degree to pursue.The flip side of coin, however; is that they can also end up being terribly fatalistic with regards to what *you* believe you're suited for, career wise, starting your own business, etc., or personally capable of achieving for that matter! I can't help but wonder how many people have fallen victim to such things simply because they believed such tests to be all knowing. Along same lines, what about how many people were literally discouraged from doing something they might otherwise have thoroughly enjoyed doing. Perhaps through shear perseverance even have come to excel in given area. One might cite Albert Einstein as such an example. Following his early years in education one would have been hard pressed to assume he'd earn label of "genius". The problem as I see it, strictly from my observations and personal experience with a number of "great achievers" if you will, is that absolute love and excitement for what you do is far more often what leads to one's eventual success and achievements in a given area. Rarely is it how someone may, or may not have scored on a given test.
| | GO BIG OR GO HOME!Written by Rhoberta Shaler, PhD
"Make no little plans, they have no magic to stir your blood... MAKE BIG PLANS. Aim high in hope and work.…" So wrote Daniel H. Burnham in last century. The big plans are important. They capture your vision. The next step is to break them down into "do-able" chunks, chunks that can be done in even one day. That is what gives you a definite sense of accomplishment, isn't it? The big plans are necessary, baby steps, imperative! My daughter shared a marketing tip with me other day. She said, "Go big, or go home". I thought about this quite a bit as it seemed so brash and arrogant. Great slogan, but what about little guy? Then, it all made sense. Each person has opportunity to define ‘big’ for herself. If we are to live our dreams and visions about how we want our lives to be, how we want to be remembered, what our contribution to our daily world could be, it IS true. Go big or go home! Have a vision. Have a master plan for your whole life as you presently see it. What would you like to be doing, experiencing, being or having in your life, sometime in your life? What are things that are most important, significant and valuable to you? That's big! After you have created "big picture" then you can decide what you would like to create immediately and pay attention to that. Timing is only one difference between short and long term goals. Another important difference is that short term goals lead directly to long term goals which fit perfectly into master plan. And good news is....you are in charge! You can change your master plan, and your approach to it, as your interests and priorities shift and grow. You are not locked in. A master plan is a plan for joy and passion, not a plan for duty and obligation.
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