As students, we are educating ourselves for greatness. Failure isn’t the focus. If it was, then why spend thousands of dollars to do it when you could just stay at home, live off your parents and fail for free?
We are all here to achieve something. To eventually make a difference in the world is the private dream of the more, dare I say, sentimental dreamers in the mix. And fortune is the goal of the monetary minded. The rest of the group is fascinated with fame, to make their names known to the world. It all boils down to the desire to do what you want, for the amount of money you want and to be recognized by others for doing it well.
But the problem in achieving those goals is that there are hundreds of people around you that want to get there first. In our global community today, one can’t help but wonder: How does one distinguish himself or herself from the masses? It is a puzzling dilemma. How does one rise above the other students in the college, not to mention the other students in the United States, and become recognized? The answer is simple: You don’t.
Selfish ambition will only get you so far. You may become rich, famous and able to change the world for the better. But think of all the things you might have to sacrifice to get there: a family, some friends, peace, content. And in case no one has told you yet — you don’t get to take it with you when you’re dead. There is a shirt that says “He who dies with the most toys, wins.” Interesting, but not realistic. Its counterpart says, “He who dies with the most toys, still dies.”
The students whose shelves are lined with prestigious awards and certificates of honor that proclaim their scholastic aptitude are in for a shock when the real world comes and says, “Nice plaque. Now what field experience do you have?” All their grades and hard work suddenly become useless in getting them that job they wanted so badly.
Then there are those of us out there who simply come to college to get a job and make money. That’s it. It doesn’t really matter what job or where — just as long as we’re earning the bucks we’re happy. Anything is better than flipping hamburgers forever, right? The obvious rebuttal is that even with a degree there is no guarantee that you won’t end up flipping hamburgers. But let’s say you do get a job. There is a good chance that you might end up in a profession that you can’t stand, but you stick to it because you are raking in the money. You punch in at the clock, do your time and go home. You will be so tired and miserable that you will never get to spend all that hard earned cash.
A drama teacher might tell his students that Shakespeare was just a guy trying to make a buck. Sounds a bit irreverent for perhaps the greatest playwright in history, but it makes a point. Shakespeare did what he knew how to do. He wrote plays. It wasn’t a popular profession at the time, and it didn’t pay much, but he just kept pouring them out. And now he is famous, his works are sold all over the world and his words have transformed his profession.
Fame, fortune and changing the world will happen in life or it won’t. The point is not to seek them out. They will find you if you give them reason to. Just do what you enjoy doing, and if you perform to the best of your ability then, who knows, your name may stand beside Ernest Hemingway, George Washington, Vincent Van Gogh or Louis Pasteur. If not, then at least you can live life to the fullest, enjoying every moment.