As I read Jim Collins’ novel, Good to Great, I couldn’t help but apply his findings about going from good to great to my own self. “Good is the enemy of great” (Collins 1). Right away, Collins captured my attention with this harsh but extremely accurate statement. Throughout my life, I have always been Good. I was a good runner, a good writer, and a good student. I was good at DECA, good at basketball, and good at math. I was good enough at running to earn a varsity spot (sixth in seven spots), good enough at writing to pass the AP language test (with the minimum passing score of 3), and a good enough student to get into KBS (twelfth in my class out of two hundred and fifty). My desire to be good at so many things was what ultimately caused me to never be great at one or two things. Like many of the comparison companies in Collins novel, I was attempting to spread myself out over too many things rather than just being focused and great at one or two things. …show more content…
I realize now that I shouldn’t strive to be Good at everything that I do. I should strive to be Great at one or two things that I’m passionate about. Focusing the majority my energy on one or two things will allow me to become Great. Another one of Collins’s focuses in Good to Great was the Hedgehog Concept, which included passion, skills, and doing what can make you money. Part of what makes a business or a person become Great is that they’re passionate about the things that they do. This was also something that stood out to me. Currently, I’m a Finance major. Although I’m good at it, I strongly dislike math. Obviously, Finance is not the right field for me to go into. Because of this realization, I’ve decided to switch my major from Finance to
This book is a study of the personal tales of many single mothers, with intentions to understand why single mothers from poor urban neighborhoods are increasingly having children out of wedlock at a young age and without promise of marrying their fathers. The authors chose to research their study in Philadelphia’s eight most devastated neighborhoods, where oppression and danger are high and substantial job opportunities are rare. They provide an excellent education against the myth that poor young urban women are having children due to a lack of education on birth control or because they intend to work the welfare system. Instead, having children is their best and perhaps only means of obtaining the purpose, validation and companionship that is otherwise difficult to find in the areas in which they live. For many of them, their child is the biggest promise they have to a better future. They also believe that though their life may not have been what they want, they want their child to have more and better opportunities and make it their life’s work to provide that.
I have grown up in the Richmond area since I was five years old; and I have trusted Dominion to power my home, work, and community for essentially my entire life. When I was accepted into the Masters of Science in Accounting program at Virginia Commonwealth University, I began to think of my future and where I wanted to be in the next few years. This fall (2014), I started my Organizational Behavior class and learned about job satisfaction. During a lecture, my professor mentioned how important it is to find a career that you feel passionate about. I love my accounting classes and find them to
...sionate generally yields positive rewards. Whether one aspires to own a motor sports company or design a type of skiwear that protects people from injuries, passion will be the driving force behind successful execution. According to Hussan and to my agreement, the best way to discover what you are passionate about is to follow your interests and heavily research your interests to discover what interests you most. Once you discover which one of your interest you want to pursue the next, and most important step, is to discover how you could exploit or differentiate your interest in the current marketplace that will give you an opportunity to capitalize. Lastly, I learned that if I decide I don't want to pursue a degree in economics, and instead I want to launch my own business, I must pursue a business in an industry, or lack thereof, that I could commit my life to.
Throughout life one takes countless journeys and comes to appreciate new experiences and life lessons. Being raised to understand how to value a dollar and what a dollar is worth gave me insight into the world of finance. Therefore, there is no inquiry why finance caught my attention. For four years I have studied hard to comprehend wealth, currency, financing, and funding through my education of receiving degrees in Finance and Accounting. However, I by no means wanted an occupation where one consistently does the same task on a daily basis with no space for growth. I yearn for a profession that can take me to new encounters and new understandings; and for one day after visiting Disneyland I knew precisely what I would embrace.
Over the course of my life, I have seen a numerous amount of people who’ve tried to become the best and failed miserably. Surprisingly, one example is me. Over the summer, I joined the Sunny Hills cross country team because running wasn’t a big deal, right? Wrong. When I came to practice, I was all pumped up and ready to impress the coach, but it was only my first run. I was already getting ahead of myself, which exemplifies pride, although I had never ran in my life before. To continue, when I started to do warm-up laps, which is a mile, I was one of the first runners to finish, as a matter of fact, it was called a “warm-up” for a reason. I thought that everyone was really slow and that they sucked at
It is vital when looking for a new job or career that you know what skills and qualities you have. Knowing what you can or cannot do will alter what employers and positions there are for you. Throughout my higher education at Full Sail University, I have been able to overcome weaknesses that I have and raised other strengths beyond what I thought I could. Matching what you are good at and not so good at can help shape what your life path will be. Looking deeper into my personal capabilities, I have discovered three strengths and three weaknesses that I have and I’m working on eliminating or improving. If you are not good at something, improving even slightly can have a nice positive impact on your overall quality of life at work and at home.
Throughout my high school and even middle school careers, I've always been looking to push myself and do everything that I can. Perhaps it is driven by the spite that must fill many women headed into male-dominated fields, or maybe it is the empathy and responsibility I feel towards people who have fewer resources than I do. I’ve cultivated my math skills throughout the five years I’ve spent on school math teams, and I can truly say that I’m proud of the growth I’ve made
Pursuing personal excellence is suppose to be a hard thing to do, but all it takes is to be proactive more often and understand instead of being understood. It's just looking at everything in a positive way, and listening and shutting up for a few days right? It can't be that hard to do, right? Just be proactive and understand instead of being understood.
Parts of my personality became apparent and I’m fairly sure that I’m going to change my major. I’m analytical, and errors bother me. Whether they’re my own or someone else’s, makes little difference. I’m critical of myself and my work, in an effort to improve, and I hold other people to the same standards. Discovering how much I prefer to work alone has me thinking that I might do best in another field, rather than human services. Something in the field of technology may hold my attention in the long run, as it’s ever-changing. I have an innate knack that I honed through curiosity and self-teaching. To pursue this as a career would mean bolstering my math skills and accepting a real challenge. When you factor in how the most difficult and fast-paced classes were my favorite, this seems like a challenge I’d be willing to
After I had graduated high school, I felt assurance and certainty that I would stick with the major I had chosen regardless of how difficult it could become to obtain it. That plan eventually changed as I realized where I wanted myself to be wasn’t the path I had chosen.
Some say that passion and love for what you do won’t land you a successful career. Jeff Haden, author of Do What You Love? #@&** That! , says that a career will not always be derived from one’s passion (463). Carl McCoy who wrote Dear Grads: Don’t Do What you Love similarly stated that doing what you love will not completely fulfill one’s desire to succeed in a career (466). He builds upon this statement in his essay by explaining that “purpose or vocation,” is needed in order to create a successful career. Miya Tokumitsu builds upon the overall statement of following one’s passion and includes that following the mantra of “Do What You Love” will “devalue one’s work and dehumanize the laborers” (468). Following one’s passion, love, and self-fulfillment can lead to failure in a career, under the wrong circumstances. As a student, go into class with an open mind and be aware of potential career opportunities for oneself, possible lucrative careers are everywhere; one’s passion will tell him where to go.
My main goal is to obtain a degree in Computer Science that will help me in a job that will possibly involve Computer programming. Computers and mathematics problems have been a source of enjoyment for me. Therefore, I have decided that a field such as Computer Science would suit my strengths. All of the other subjects in school have always been harder for me to get through. Ever since I was a little girl, I was very good at mathematics. Although I am not the best in any subject, I hope that the skills I have and will acquire in the future help me become someone with a purpose in life. It is in my best interest to be successful regardless of whether I am well known or
...y you have enthusiasm for and do well in,” is advice often given by employers. Lynn Cheney, former Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities, agrees: “Students who follow their hearts in choosing majors will most likely end up laboring at what they love. They’re the ones who will put in the long hours and intense effort that achievement requires. And they’re the ones who will find the sense of purpose that underlies most human happiness.”
Ever since my second year of university, I knew that I wanted to have a career in finance. However, I wasn 't going to be satisfied with the average 9 to 5 job at the local bank dealing with small loans and day-to-day personal banking. No, my goals are way bigger. After participating twice at the Rotman International Trading Competition in Toronto, I competed against some of the best schools in the world and developed an urge to learn the utmost possible about the finance world and to be the best. My first finance experience includes co-founding an investment club on campus that gained notable attention and that gathered multiple universities every year to organize Atlantic Canada 's largest stock simulation. In addition, I represented my school in a few other competitions and did quite well. Unfortunately, my Bachelor 's degree only went so far into detail, so even though I would spend countless hours talking to the director of the accounting/finance department, I knew that I had to pursue further studies in order to gain the necessary knowledge to achieve my goals.
Perfection is not within the realms of possibility, but I always knew if I aim for perfection, I could at least achieve excellence. This is the mantra I have followed in every walk of life. I have always learnt to appreciate everything I have taken up, thoroughly and to the fullest. In this competitive pace of life, I have learnt a lot from my experiences and I am still striving to learn more. I constantly challenged myself in an effort to develop a rational mindset and approach to problem solving.