Student Success Academy

When in doubt, do as scientists do. I mean, why not? They are very influential in our society for a reason. We rely on them for cutting edge discoveries, and the next “big thing.” We are always listening to them to find out which foods to eat, and relying on them for advances in medicine and technology. We look to them for our health and well-being, and increasing our quality of life. But it’s not the fact that they are scientists why so many of us would consider them successful. It is what they do, and especially how they do it.

Let us learn from the nerds:

Success, Understand It.

Take the last good conversation you had with your best friend. There were probably a lot of questions thrown back and forth in that conversation. You didn’t realize it, but what you were doing with each other, was trying to understand each other better, and that’s what makes you good friends; asking questions. Not sure where to start out for success. Well, as stated above, “Do as scientists do”. If there is one thing scientists are good at doing, it is asking a lot of questions. A scientist who is trying to understand the human body might start by asking a simple question: “Why do we breathe?” Questions help you really understand something. They get you down to the nitty-gritty, the little details. Questions are always good starting points in trying to understand something. To understand success, we must ask a lot of simple questions.

Now, let us get a head start, and ask ourselves a simple question,
“What is success?”
Our endeavor for success has now commenced…

Success, Narrow It Down

Let us start simply. Science. Success. What is one thing that these two things have in common? YES! They both start with the letter “S”. Now, think more deeply. Science and success are two very broad and very generalized concepts. When someone majors in science in college, they don’t simply choose to major in ”Science”. That is way too broad, and encompasses way to much information (I think Einstein would have even had trouble in that major). No, a student chooses a discipline of science. For instance one might get into the science of plants, or botany. Or one might get into the science of human behavior, psychology; or maybe the science of ecosystems, ecology, and so on . Success is like science. Just as there isn’t one science to major in, there isn’t just one way to be successful. Just as there are many different scientists that study almost everything, there are countless ways to obtain success, and be successful.

Let us ask ourselves,
“How do we want to be successful?”
Our route to success, is now more easily defined…

Success, Think About It

When Sir Isaac Newton discovered the concept of  gravity, he wasn’t in some class room, or tinkering in some sophisticated laboratory. No, he was sitting under an apple tree, thinking about it (although he had the aid of a plop on the head from an apple). There is not a “how-to-book” for new scientific discoveries. Yes, we have the “scientific method”, but it’s just that, a method, not a check list. Success is much the same way. It doesn’t involve fulfilling a checklist, or a quota on a test. Heck, it doesn’t even involve receiving a piece of paper, whether it is a diploma, degree, or certification. To find success in life, you must think about it a little. Let it simmer. Say it to yourself a couple of times. Write yourself success notes. There is no right or wrong way to think about success. What matters is that your mind is on it, constantly and continuously. You never know when a great opportunity may come falling into your life, and plop you on the head. If something else is consuming your time, and consequently, your mind (XBOX, Getting Money, that cute girl that sits next to you in second period) that apple of success might never fall onto your world, and instead land itself in the hands of another passerby.

So, Think it to yourself daily,
“Success, I want it. Success, I will attain it.”
Our motivation for success is now getting to where it needs to be…

Success, Try It.

When a scientist thinks he or she has “figured it out”, they don’t just tell the world without any explanation, or reason to back up the new idea. They run an experiment to see if it works. More times than not, I assure you, they are unsuccessful. But they don’t stop at an unsuccessful attempt to understand something. They rework, and retry. We can read every book on success, attend every success conference, have limitless resources devoted to success, but we cannot BE successful if we don’t try something. Finding success isn’t a passive process. We have to be active. If something doesn’t work, we redo the variables and try again. Similarly, once you think you know success, experiment with that understanding a bit. Apply for that job, or take that class; get out and be active. Success does involve planning and understanding, but more so, it involves a lot of doing. There will be times that things don’t work out, or go quite as planned, but what separates successful people, from everyone else, is how the successful person viewed those unsuccessful times in his or her life. Failures can be a hindrance, or a learning experience.

Take Thomas Edison’s famous quote:
“I have not failed 10,000 times. I have successfully found 10,000 ways that will not work.”

Failure is no longer in our vocabulary.

To be successful, let us not simply think of ourselves as students of success.  Let us think of ourselves as scientists of success. Let us slice and dice ideas and concepts of success into their simplest forms. Let us pull up a chair, rest our chin in our palm, and think about success a bit. Let us relentlessly ask questions about success: Why, How, When, Where, What if…. And when we feel we almost have an idea of what success is and what it can be, let us challenge our ideas of success in a real life “experiment.”. Let us come together, in a scientific collaboration to discover: success.

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