Create Your Success

Some people are born into opportunity, others are not. Some people get all the breaks, others get none. Some people are treated justly, others with injustice. The fact of the matter is that Life is not always fair. But the question is: How do you respond to circumstance?

Do you take positive action to create the best possible outcome for your circumstance?

Or is your life outside of your control?

As a college student you have the opportunity to positively respond to circumstance every single day. Take personal responsibility for your success:
- Ask for help when you need it.
- Attend workshops to learn study skills.
- Apply time management skills to your busy schedule.
- Talk to you professors when you are struggling.
- Identify and learn from your mistakes.
- Identify a strategy for getting everything done that you need to get done.
- Do what you need to do to be successful.

Don't be a victim of circumstance. Don't blame others. Don't throw your hands up and say there is nothing you can do about your circumstances. Rather, take the initiative to always do the best you can in your given situation.

Still not convinced that you have the freedom to respond to circumstance? Read the following quote from Victor Frankl, a Holocaust survivor.

“We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms -- to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way.”

Talk about challenging circumstances, great injustice, and extremely limited options - yet some people of great strength took positive action to make the best of a horrid situation. Even if their life was taken from them, they refused to let go of their humanity and their empathy.

This, of course, is an extreme example...but perhaps an inspirational one. What can you do - right now - to take positive action to improve your success at Community College of Denver? What small steps can you take? E-mail a professor, create time to study, set up an appointment with your case manager...

It may be a myth that any of us can be anything...there are circumstances beyond our control that impact our life trajectory. HOWEVER, no matter what your life throws at you, you can always choose to take positive action to make the best of your situation. Success is never guaranteed, but your attitude and the actions you take (or put off) go a long ways in determining the end result.

Create your success - now!