Monday, April 22, 2013

The 1-question "Will you be successful?" quiz

I developed a quick 1-question quiz to predict whether or not you will be successful at whatever it is you are doing right now.

Are you ready?

Okay, let's go.

Agree or Disagree: "How good you are in the beginning is no indicator of how good you can become." - Astronaut Mark Kelly

Got your answer? 

Answer Key:

If you said Agree: you are going to be successful!! Woo hoo. Do a little dance.
If you said Disagree:....well....uh....gosh...this is awkward.... ;) 

I have to give all the credit to Mark Kelly who I heard say this yesterday at the American Association of Community College's annual conference. 

When he shared this statement I immediately thought of you. I thought of the students who struggled in high school; I thought of the students in remedial math and reading; I thought of those who e-mail me feeling defeated after failing a test; I thought of those who get a bad SAT score or a bad grade and think they just aren't smart, that they should give up now to protect their ego.

But the truth is, most great people were not naturally amazing at what they are doing now. They worked hard and strategically at it. And most importantly - they overcame obstacles because they believed they could get better. 

Astronaut Mark Kelly said this when talking about landing his first airplane on a boat; he didn't do a great job and afterwards the commander said to him, "are you sure this is the right career for you?" Mark didn't let that deter him, and he became one of the few who fly into space.

Do you really believe you have the power and potential to get really good at what you are working on right now? Do you believe you can do this, get better, and reach greatness?

I'm not into cheesy pop psychology stuff; this stuff is for real. I was just reading a great book from Harvard Educational Press called Ready, Willing, & Able that also cited (using studies done on motivational theory) that students' belief about how much they can control their growth, improvement, and potential is a MUCH greater indicator of future success than anything else.

Do you think you can do this? Do you think you have the power to improve and get great at what you want to do with your life? If you do, then watch out world, because here you come! :)

If you don't, find a mentor at your college right away and talk about this. Read biographies of great people you admire and notice what they did to change their future and develop the skill that made them famous. Go the extra mile in whatever it is you're working on right now and watch how the results change.

Okay, now it's time for the pop quiz surprise success test: 

I've determined - with my scientific prowess and a super complicated/advanced method - that reading all the way to the end of this article means you WILL be super crazy successful. Seriously, you can't argue with science. ;)

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