Tomorrow
is thanksgiving in the United States, and I’m grateful to my brother Jadd for
sharing a personal story with me so I could share it with you. In his own
words, here’s his story, with a great message as well…
“During
the second half of my high school career, I was required to take precalculus to
help prepare me for college math. I’ve
always been good with numbers, but I never really enjoyed math classes. The truth is, it takes a certain level of
maturity to look ahead to the future and realize how doing something that isn’t
very enjoyable right now may be helpful or useful down the road. Unfortunately, I didn’t have that maturity,
at least not in relation to precalculus.
“By
the middle of the semester, I was barely passing. Then I made it worse by not only blowing off
studying for a particular test, but writing answers on the test in the form of
notes to my teacher like, “I don’t know math,” “I have no idea,” and “How could
I possibly know this answer if I didn’t know the last two?”
“At
the next class, when he handed our tests back, the teacher made a specific
point of singling mine out in front of everyone. I’d received a 4 percent. Yes, that’s 4 percent out of a possible 100...
and truthfully, I don’t even know how I got 4 percent right.
“What’s
interesting is how much this motivated me.
Whether it was out of embarrassment or deciding that I didn’t like the
thought of my teacher viewing me as a slacker, I decided that I was no longer
content to just scrape by.
“For
the next test, I buckled down and studied hard.
I went in with confidence, and although I don’t recall taking the test
itself, I certainly remember what happened the next day. Everyone in the class received their tests
back with grades written at the top except for me. Mine had a sticky-note that read, “See Me.”
“After
class, the teacher laid my test on his desk.
He pointed to several problems at random, asking me to explain my work
and how I’d gotten the answers. After I
did, he looked at me, then took a marker and wrote “108%” on my test. I had gotten every problem right, plus extra
credit problems for bonus points.
“I
looked at my grade, then at my teacher, and asked, “Is that the highest grade
in the class?” He nodded.
“I
thought for a second, then said, “You wanted to make sure I actually knew how
to do the problems, right? That I didn’t
cheat?”
“He
looked at me, sighed, and said, “You’re really frustrating,” which I took to
mean that it frustrated him that I could do next to nothing for half a
semester, then score the highest out of a class of forty students when I
actually applied myself.
“Obviously,
he had a good point, and I learned an important lesson from that
experience. We all have weaknesses and
strengths, but just as important as figuring out our strengths is making sure we’re
not wasting them. What good was I doing myself
by knowingly underachieving? None.
“When
you have a strength, it’s not just a good idea to utilize it, it’s imperative that you do so. It’s not enough just to be good at something
if you don’t contribute that value to the world. When you unleash your strengths and maximize
your value, there’s no telling how great of an impact you may have.
“For
example: People know that Albert
Einstein originated some of the most revolutionary scientific theories and discoveries
of the last century and a half. But did
you know that, after graduating from college and being certified to teach math and
physics, he was unable to find a teaching position for two years? In fact, he was so frustrated that he finally
took a job in a patent office, where he worked for seven years evaluating other people’s inventions and
discoveries! Can you imagine what
the last hundred years may’ve been like for humanity without the scientific
breakthroughs Einstein made after leaving that job to focus on his
strength?
“In
the words of Michelangelo, “The greater danger for most of us lies not in
setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and
achieving our mark.” Aim high with your
life! Dream big, expect amazing things,
and don’t hold back. Your unique gifts
may be exactly what the world is waiting for and desperately needs!”
Until Next Week…
Live Your Dreams!
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