Avoid the Mistake Most Students Make & BE A LEADER!

One of the most common pieces of advice I received as a student ending up being one of my biggest mistakes.

I fell into the RESUME BUILDER TRAP at an early age.  I was always told to participate in everything I could.  After all, the more I was involved, the more likely colleges would accept me, right?

I participated in literally ANY activity I possibly could, from French Club, Service Committee, Student Council, Newspaper, Yearbook, Theater, Sports, and much, much more.  To put it lightly, I was burning the candle and both ends, making it impossible for me to actually PARTICIPATE in anything at all.  Before I realized it,  I was JUST A NAME on a bunch of lists.

However, the REALITY is this: COLLEGES and future EMPLOYERS are not interested in how many meetings you signed up to attend.  But they are INTERESTED in how many times you TOOK ACTION, created a WAVE, and MADE A DIFFERENCE.

It is far better to do a few things well than to undertake many good works and leave them half done

-Francis de Sales

Most college ADMISSIONS committees and corporate RECRUITERS know the DIFFERENCE between PARTICIPATION and LEADERSHIP. Most are not looking for students who are just involved, but for students who took a LEADERSHIP role and were able to PROVE their ability to get RESULTS.

CHOOSE your extra curricular activities with CARE. Identify clubs, organizations and activities where you have the OPPORTUNITY to take a LEADERSHIP role and demonstrate your ability to set objectives, MOTIVATE other people and get a predetermined end RESULT.

Focus on QUALITY over quantity.  You are more likely to get into the school of your DREAMS or land the job you’ve been eyeing if you FOCUS more on the QUALITY of your participation rather than on how many activities you can list on a piece of paper.

Take a minute to ASSESS your current INVOLVEMENT:

  • Are you overextending yourself with the quantity of activities you are involved with?
  • Can you identify any activities or groups that you can cut out?
  • Which groups or activities do you WANT to focus on?
  • Do you have a leadership role in a current organization or activity?
  • Are there opportunities for leadership in a club you are involved with that you could take?

Take the step today to LEAD others toward a GREATER VISION and you will prove to college boards and future employers that you have the COMMITMENT and ACTION to be a GREAT LEADER for their school or organization.

It is time to start living the life you have imagined.

-Henry James

Don’t be a Prisoner to Time!

Are you craving MORE FUN in your life? Do you wish you had more time to start your new blog or watch football with friends? Do you simply want to spend LESS time working on the stuff you DON’T WANT to do? If you’re like most people I know, the answer to all these questions is a big fat YES!!

In high school, it seemed like I had too many scheduled activities. I felt like I had no time to do the extra things I wanted to do. From sports practice & dress rehearsals to club meetings and homework, my schedule felt too full for anything else, especially the stuff I wanted to do like catching a movie with my friends or trying out that new yoga studio.

I thought to myself, “There has to be a way to do what I want AND still do what I need to do…right? “

My mentors at Eagle U opened my eyes to a SIMPLE way to do just that…WRITE IT ALL DOWN:

List all the hours of the day as TIME BLOCKS.
PRIORITIZE what needs to get done that day.
SCHEDULE EVERYTHING you have TO DO in those time blocks.
Once you write down what you have to do, you will INSTANTLY see the OPPORTUNITIES in your day for doing what you WANT to do, too (I promise, it works!).

As Eagles we “do what we ought to do, when we ought to do it”, but we also make time for what we WANT to do! OLYMPIC ATHLETES & ENTREPRENEURS don’t succeed by feeling trapped in time. They use their time wisely to do what they ought to do to make time for what they want to do, too! It’s all about PRIORITIZING and WRITING IT DOWN.

There are millions of RESOURCES online for time management, from digital planners to iPhone apps. All you really need, though, is a piece of paper and a pen! Find what works for you and RUN WITH IT!

Take 10-15 MINUTES each day to SCHEDULE out the next 24 hours. You will be amazed at how much MORE you can get done in one day, and still have time for WHAT YOU WANT!

 

TIME = LIFE.  Therefore, WASTE your TIME and WASTE your LIFE, or MASTER your TIME and MASTER your LIFE

– Alan Lakein