Taking Action With 3 to Succeed

Here’s how you can start using 3 to Succeed today to start skyrocketing toward your success.

First you will need a pack of index cards; you can get them from the dollar store. Write your main goal down on the back of the index card on the blank side. Let’s imagine your dream is to become a doctor one day, so that you can help keep children healthy. You would write the following on the back of the card:

I will have a 3.5 this semester, so that
I can get into a top med school.

Starting today, (yes, today, I don’t care what time it is) you will set three specific goals you want to accomplish for the day.

You will set at least two academic goals and one life goal daily. Setting an academic goal is pretty self-explanatory; it’s a goal that moves you toward academic success. But there is much more to success as a student than just what you do inside the classroom, so the life goal will cover the outside of the classroom stuff.

For example, if you wanted to become a doctor, your goals could look like this:

Academic

1. I will read three chapters of my biology book today before 5 pm.

2. I will attend the chemistry study group tonight at 8 pm.Life

Life

3. I will call three doctors’ offices today before noon to see if at least one of the doctors would be interested in being interviewed by me so that I can find out how the doctor chose his or her particular specialty.

That’s the recipe. Two academic, one life. Now I know what you are probably thinking: “Arel, there are WAY more than three things I need to do in a day!” And I understand that. You live a busy, active, exciting life. But under no circumstances do these three things not get done. They are nonnegotiable.

Many times in the day we get inundated with so many things to do that the most important stuff gets put on the back burner of your To Do List. Not this time! The 3 to Succeed goals you write on this particular list should get done as soon as you possibly can.

Oh, by the way, you do have an actual, physical To Do List, right? Not just something you keep in your head, but something you can look at. A huge mistake many people make is trying to keep something in their heads, because they are guaranteed to forget something. As the ancient Chinese proverb says,

The faintest ink is better than the best memory.

Case in point, have you ever gone to the supermarket to buy eggs and come home with bags full of groceries, but no eggs? Be honest. Using lists is a critical tool of the successful.

Now that we’ve settled that argument, I want you to write down your big goal with a “so that I can” on one side of the card, and your 3 to Succeed action steps on the other.

The following is how it might look:

Arel Moodie is widely known as America's Top Young Speaker. He has spoken to over 65,000 students in 39 states and 2 countries on the topics of student success, student leadership and student entrepreneurship. He is a leading authority on helping students of this generation succeed in school and in life. He is also the best selling author of the book Your Starting Point For Student Success. To find out more about Arel's book, go to www.startingpointbook.com. To find out more about Arel's speaking please go to www.arelmoodie.com.