You are!

Whether you are a teacher or a student, your own responsibility lies within you.

One of my students came into class today without anything – without the textbook, without a pen or pencil, and without any paper or notebook. I asked him, “Where are your things?” He looked at me curiously and said, “At home….”

Just as my blood pressure began to rise over a student coming to class unprepared, I changed my perspective and my reaction. I said,” Well, just like it’s my responsibility to be prepared to teach you, it’s your responsibility to be prepared to learn. It’s like a pact we made when you signed up for the class. So, I’m going to be standing up here doing what I do, and hopefully you can take action right now to be as prepared as you possibly can with the resources around you.”

He said, “What resources? I didn’t bring anything.”

I said, “There are 19 other students in this classroom right now. What items do they have that you don’t have right now?”

He said, “They have everything I don’t have.”

I said, “Okay, so who might be able to help you get what you need?”

Then the lightbulb turned on in his head. He smiled. He asked the girl next to him for paper and a pen. Then he asked her if she could share her book. He raised his hand to answer every question I asked throughout the class period. And he was very eager to pay attention and participate in the discussion.

With both of us fulfilling our end of our own responsibility, learning happened for both of us. He learned his responsibility, and I learned not to let my blood pressure rise in a situation that seemed incomprehensible at the time.

About a month ago I decided to take an online novel writing class. Anytime I share my writing experience as a journalist or express my desire to write a novel, people always say that’s something they have always wanted to do too. So…when I posted my status on Facebook and Twitter that I was going to take this class, I immediately got emails and comments congratulating me. In almost all of the comments sent to me, all of the people expressed a once upon a time interest in writing a novel.

One particular friend pursued the conversation with me a little further. He told me how passionate he was about always wanting to be a novelist and then asked me if I thought he should write a novel. My reply was, “If this is something that you are truly passionate about doing, the question is why AREN’T you doing it?”

Wow! That was all he needed. The next day he said he’s already included a thank you for me in his acceptance speech for the awards he’ll win from his novel. He asked me if I thought that was crazy. I said, “Absolutely not! I’m already ready for the several interviews I’ll have once I get recognition from the Oprah Book Club.”

Anytime I’m thinking about taking on a new project or participating in a new venture, I aways ask myself, “How is this going to compliment the dreams in my heart?” If it won’t, I don’t do it. I think the task is probably meant for someone else. If it does, I move forward.

Think abundantly and stay focused. If you think small, you’ll play small. If you think big, the possibilities are endless. Expect the best with every step of your journey and be mindful of not getting off track.

Take this situation as an example…….

For the past month or so, a collegue of mine and I have been working on the unveiling of a new pilot course. The technology program works with our remedial writing class and makes paper submissions, grading, and teaching grammar easier for both the students and the instructor.

During winter break, my colleague and I worked diligently with the publishing company to put this pilot class together. This included online training and a few meetings for us to understand the program. Then, we went into the program and tailored it to fit our curriculum. We also created an extremely detailed course outline so students could follow along with the tasks they’d be completing on a day to day basis.

With everything prepared down to the very last detail, we couldn’t possibly be prepared for the monsoon like rain storm we had yesterday in South Jersey. I can’t even count the amount of times my umbrella turned inside out on my way to the class, but by the time I arrived to class, I was drenched….along with our department secretary and the three representatives from the publishing company, who had traveled three hours to get to my class to help train the students.

We decided to meet 30 minutes before the class started. We set up all of the computers so that all the students had to do when they got to the class was sit in front of them, look up at the monitor in the front of the classroom, and follow directions.

Well, that’s not what actually took place. As soon as all the students got to class, the power went out. With the exception of four computers that were apparently running off of the back up generator, everything was off….including the lights. Thinking quickly, we decided to rotate the students onto these four computers and let them leave after they registered for the software program. Quickly after the second group of students got onto the computers to register, those four computers went out as well.

How did the students react to the situation? They became flexible. They took the directions and registered at home. They listened carefully and took notes in the dark before they were dismissed from class.

Although the students might not even realize it, they learned a very important lesson that they can apply throughout life. They learned how to remain calm when things seem to be chaotic. They made a decision that they were going to have enough confidence in themselves to try the new program at home and complete the assignment for homework. They made a decision that they were going to become flexible.

The path to self discovery is paying close attention to what you value in life. When you are happy about something, your values are being honored. When you are upset about something, your values are being challenged.

According to www.dictionary.com, a value is defined as, “the ideals, customs, institutions, etc., of a society toward which the people of the group have an affective regard.”

By definition, everyone has different values. This is because people grow up in different households. People are taught differently. People live in different neighborhoods. And what one person learned was right and wrong is different from what other people might  have learned is right and wrong. Knowing this, it is easy to understand why people have different values. You can also be more willing to accept that it’s alright if someone else’s values are different from your own.

As you grow as a person, you might find that the values you were taught do not serve you anymore. And there may be other values that you hold onto. That is the key right there: keep the values that work for your life and get rid of the ones that don’t.

Take Action

Visit http://www.stevepavlina.com/articles/list-of-values.htm to take a look at several general values. Come up with a list of 10 that you feel describe the type of person you are. Have your family and friends also come up with words they think explain who you are as a person. If you agree with your friends and family, put it on the list. If the value does not resonate with you, then do not add it to your list. Remember, it’s all about figuring out who you are. It’s not about others telling you who you are. Although they can be helpful in the process, they can’t define you. Only you can do that.

Once you have a list of about 15 values, take time to think about how you’d like to make these values more visible in how you live your life. If you notice that you are not honoring any particular value, jot down notes on how you might want to apply that value to your life.

Keep these values in mind while thinking about what type of career you want to choose for yourself. Make sure that you do enough research about the career to ensure that your values align with the common responsibilities of your career choice. Talk with someone in that career field to hear about their experiences, keeping your values in mind and thinking about whether there is a match.

Take Action

One major step in figuring out what you are meant to do with your life is reflecting on who you are and what you really like to do. Think back on your favorite pastimes as a child. Think about the activities you do now. Most likely, the activities that get you excited are the ones that are related to a career you would feel passionate about.

Take out a journal or a piece of paper and write this information down. A simple brainstorming activity on your passions will exercise your brain and help you figure out what career you’d like to choose. Remember that the choice is always yours, so make the ones that fulfill you.

Your PAIL is the bucket you carry around with you filled with life experiences, or as some might say, life circumstances.

If your PAIL is filled with mostly negative experiences, PAIL stands for Pushing Ahead Into Limbo. Limbo is a state of uncertainty, usually blocking your view by dwelling on the past. This bucket is heavy and drains your energy. It prevents you from building your goals because all of the negative items in your bucket serve as a reminder of why you think you can’t accomplish anything.

If you dump the past into the ocean and let it float away, your PAIL is open for new opportunities. You don’t have junk holding you down. In this case PAIL stands for Preparing Ambitiously Into Life. This state allows you to see the path in front of you clearly and focus on the now moment in your life. Because of the lightness of your bucket, you are able to run, jump, play, and skip through your journey, always remembering to dump the stuff in your PAIL that does not serve or benefit you.

Which PAIL are you working with today? Are you PUSHING AHEAD INTO LIMBO or PREPARING AMBITIOUSLY FOR LIFE? No matter who you are, where you are from, or what you’ve experienced in life, you can always choose to Prepare Ambitiously for Life!

As a college professor, I constantly hear students complaining about the lack of assistance they are offered to pick classes, figure out a plan for graduation, or even help them figure out what they want to do with the rest of their lives. Time after time I’ve seen students drop out of school because they don’t know what they want to do and lack guidance on figuring it out.

Don’t give up. Demand attention because you know you deserve it! Ask your instructors for advice. Dive into their lists of contacts and talk to people from different careers you might consider.

Visit the career center at your school. Don’t be afraid to ask for an internship. You might not make a lot of money, but you’ll certainly get your foot in the door. That internship might lead to your future job upon completing college.

Being persistent is the key! You pay a lot of money to go to school, so get the help you need. Colleges have a ton of business connections, but you often have to ask in order to tap into them. And many times you have to ask several times and several people before you get an answer, but it’s definitely worth the information.

Many people give up during these times of struggle and decide that their goals of being who they really are and want to be is too hard to accomplish. But we need this struggle to find ourselves and live freely. By living freely, we do not need the approval of others to determine what is and is not right for us.

We know we have found our true self when the opinions of others do not matter in the choices we make for ourselves. At this point, confidence is found within.

Why is Finding Your True Self Important in Building Your Career?

Most people spend most of the hours in their day at work. If they do not like their career, this can be absolutely grueling.

Some people pick their career randomly or in a field where they feel they will make a lot of money. Often times these same people get their education, start working, and realize that the career they chose is not for them. This is why many people often work outside of the career fields they chose when they were getting their education.

If more people consciously aligned who they are with what they decide to do for a living, they would enjoy their career much more. In addition, there would be much more enjoyment in each hour that is spent at work.

How Does Getting the Collegiate Career Coach Help You Find Your True Self?

Having your personal career coach will help you figure out who you really are and what is really important to you. This process includes taking a close look at the things you really like to do and connecting these things with the career you choose. Also, it involves taking a close look at your ideal lifestyle and values. Aligning all of this up with your career provides you with direction. It brings you out of the frightening wilderness of uncertainty to your true destiny.