Never for a second did I think I would complete my bachelor’s degree, this last weekend I did. Was it the normal way that most people do it? I would probably say no, as I graduated at the age of 25 (old man me). You see there was a time, a few years ago that I started college and I had to make a choice: school full-time and part-time work, or vice versa. I chose the latter.
The beautiful thing in life is that everyone has their own unique path and journey. We can truly determine our destiny by the decisions that we make. We are the artist that paints our portrait in this thing called life!
Now you might be wondering, why not just get school over with and move on? Why drag it out? Why even go to school? All valid questions, and to be quite honest all the things that had spun around in my head at one point in time.
I chose to do the latter, which was to work full-time and do part-time school because in my mind I saw several benefits. I weighed the pros and cons, mixed with my personality traits and work ethic and here is what I came up with (picture you see is what I wrote in my notebook at NIC in 2014-2015 and found as I was throwing old books away):
1. Experience – I didn’t want to go to school for 4+ years and then graduate with no experience in my “field of profession”. I wanted to learn the ins and outs of the business first hand, and I enjoyed it very much.
2. Challenge – I knew that it would be a challenge and push me relentlessly throughout the process. In life if we can find a way to make ourselves uncomfortable every day, that is when we see exponential growth.
3. Debt and Independence – I didn’t want help from my parents, or family to earn this. I wanted to work in my career full-time and pay off these student debts as I went through each semester. Putting it all on my shoulders, ensured I would push 110% and not let myself slack.
4. Teach others – The biggest and last reason, is I wanted to be able to share my story with others. I wanted to be able to share how it is possible to do it all on your own, and end in little to no debt.
Once I put this list of things together, I knew that I could do it. So, what did I do?
I WENT ALL IN.
I applied to the appropriate schools and started on my action plan. I wanted to do just the right amount of workload based off what I could afford to pay every semester, not necessarily the time I had. Doing this gave me the room to do about 3-4 classes a semester. With the help of so many people around me, and lots of encouragement I persevered through it!
Fast forward 5 years and I now have my bachelor’s degree.
Would I say that this is the way for every person? NO! If you are convinced you want to go to college and be a full-time student do that. However, if you are one of these types of people: on the fence about college, scared of student debt, want to work and do school and gain experience, want to create your own unique path. If one of these resonates with you, I would love to help you and share my story and what I did!
Nothing in life should ever control us or determine our outcome, only we can determine that by our decisions and the plans that we create!
So, here’s what I want you to do here is your challenge. Grab a piece of paper. Right down what you are trying to achieve. Whether that is college, a class, a certification, whatever it is….
WRITE IT DOWN.
Write the pros and cons and weigh them. If the pros outweigh, go tackle this thing and don’t look back. This list four years ago, is what got me here today.
Hold yourself accountable. Go after your goals. Chase them with a fire that never dies.
Go get after it my friends!
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