A few days ago I had a conversation with my older brother about his grades in college. He is getting straight A's. This was strange to hear coming from a kid who ****ed around throughout high school and pulled mostly C's, alot of B's, and some D's. I asked him what it was that suddenly motivated him to put so much effort into school. He said
"Well, one thing was getting a wreck while DUI and realizing how easily I could have died. I realized that everything I do has real consequences in my life, and what I do now can effect me forever. Another thing was a conversation I had with my best friend one night while we were drinking. He told me he was dissapointed in me because I had worse grades than him first semester, and I said "I could have done better. I will do better next semester." He said "As long as I've known you, you've said the same damn thing. You will always be a could-have person." This hurt to hear, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized how true it was. I started thinking about my future career. Investment banking is competitive, and those who aren't very good work in small firms and get small paychecks. The guys who put 100% into it and become really good at it work in the big firms on wall street and some make millions of dollars a year. I decided that if I kept half-assing everything, I would never end up on the level of investment banking I want to be at. I would say "I could have gotten into a better firm if I tried harder. I will do better next year."
When I am 70, I don't want to look back on my life and my career and think "I could have done better." This thought alone really effected me. So, now I am putting as close to 100% as I can into everything I do. Now, if I can keep this A in English, I will be on the dean's list, which means that I could probably get into Harvard's business school."
After this conversation I thought about my life and realized I am also a could-have person. I see a cute girl, I hesitate and lose my chance, and I am left thinking to myself "I could have hooked up with her. I will talk to the next cute girl I see." but I end up doing the same thing with the next girl, and it becomes a habit. I am a could-have person with my grades. I tell myself that I will do better next quarter, but I never do. If I would actually put a little effort into it I could easily have great grades. My entire life I have put much less than 100% into things I do and it has got me nowhere. If you really want to reach your goals, you have to put everything you have into it.
I'm sure some of you say you could have done better in school, sports, hobbies, ect. If you say "well, I will do better." you better make sure you stand by your word.
"Well, one thing was getting a wreck while DUI and realizing how easily I could have died. I realized that everything I do has real consequences in my life, and what I do now can effect me forever. Another thing was a conversation I had with my best friend one night while we were drinking. He told me he was dissapointed in me because I had worse grades than him first semester, and I said "I could have done better. I will do better next semester." He said "As long as I've known you, you've said the same damn thing. You will always be a could-have person." This hurt to hear, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized how true it was. I started thinking about my future career. Investment banking is competitive, and those who aren't very good work in small firms and get small paychecks. The guys who put 100% into it and become really good at it work in the big firms on wall street and some make millions of dollars a year. I decided that if I kept half-assing everything, I would never end up on the level of investment banking I want to be at. I would say "I could have gotten into a better firm if I tried harder. I will do better next year."
When I am 70, I don't want to look back on my life and my career and think "I could have done better." This thought alone really effected me. So, now I am putting as close to 100% as I can into everything I do. Now, if I can keep this A in English, I will be on the dean's list, which means that I could probably get into Harvard's business school."
After this conversation I thought about my life and realized I am also a could-have person. I see a cute girl, I hesitate and lose my chance, and I am left thinking to myself "I could have hooked up with her. I will talk to the next cute girl I see." but I end up doing the same thing with the next girl, and it becomes a habit. I am a could-have person with my grades. I tell myself that I will do better next quarter, but I never do. If I would actually put a little effort into it I could easily have great grades. My entire life I have put much less than 100% into things I do and it has got me nowhere. If you really want to reach your goals, you have to put everything you have into it.
I'm sure some of you say you could have done better in school, sports, hobbies, ect. If you say "well, I will do better." you better make sure you stand by your word.
