In my last Connections piece, I alluded to how I grew up in Kansas but didn't necessarily want to go to college in Kansas. That may have been a bit of an understatement--I was hell-bent on getting out of Kansas. So I loaded up my high school years with all of the AP classes, activities and standardized testing I thought I would need to get into out-of-state schools. I went on the obligatory out-of-state college tour with my parents and had my sights set on some private schools pretty far from ole' Ad Aspera Per Aspra. But when April of my Senior year rolled around and college decisions began coming in, the goal I had set several years before began to look less realistic and KU began to make more and more sense. I flat out didn't get into some of the out-of-state schools I applied to, got into others but couldn't stomach their price tag, and decided that still others couldn't beat the value-proposition that KU offered me right there in my home state (I have to mention, being offered a SELF Fellowship was a key component of this decision). Fast forward to today and I can confidently say that the opportunities that KU gave me would not have been possible at many of the other schools I looked at, and I am more prepared for my career ambitions as a result. But I also wouldn't have had the opportunities I did at KU if not for my journey in high school.
But this anecdote isn't the only time in my life I've been taught that the journey is more important than the destination (but only afterwards does one realize this). Relatively early in my KU years, I became aware of a scholarship opportunity that would fund graduate study in Europe. The program was right up my alley and I began to research what it would take to win it. After digging around and some encouragement from a couple professors, I realized that I would need to develop a multi-year plan, beginning early during my time at KU, if winning the scholarship was to be a realistic goal. Not being one to shy away from a challenge, I decided to go for it. During the next several years, I loaded up my semesters with extra courses, became very involved on campus, traveled around the world on several KU-sponsored trips, and generally worked harder than at any other time in my life. When it became time to actually apply for the scholarship, I was lucky enough to earn KU's nomination for the national competition. But that's when the pursuit of my goal ended. I wasn't selected as a finalist and that was it, no scholarship for Greg.
In the immediate aftermath of my grand failure, I was preoccupied with thoughts such as "was all of my hard work a waste of time?" and "could I have spent some of the time I dedicated to pursuing my goal on other outlets?". But after I licked my wounds for a few weeks (ok, a couple months), I began to realize that these initial thoughts were off-base. Since I truly enjoyed all of the activities, experiences and the hard work that I undertook to pursue my ultimately failed goal, none of it was a waste. And even though I didn't win my scholarship, the body of work and experiences I assembled pursing it helped me earn other phenomenal opportunities, some of which I had not originally set out to achieve.
What did I learn from all of this and how can you apply it to your own unique situations? Well, I suppose one could surmise that I continually fail to achieve my highest goals. But if we ignore that rather unpleasant possibility, I think the takeaway should be two-fold. First, set very ambitious goals because even if you fail, the opportunities that you will have at the end of the road will still reflect the quality of the work you put in trying to get there. Secondly, don't become so fixated on an end-goal that you forget to enjoy the ride along the way. Like I said at the onset of this rambling, it may sound cliche, but the journey is more important than the destination.
One of the opportunities that I ended up with after failing to win my scholarship was a deferred admission to an MBA program. I know that some of you may be considering pursuing an MBA, but is it right to go there straight after college or wait until you have some work experience? I don't know the answer to that question, but I will devote my next Connections piece to acting like I do.
Until next week,
Greg