The lessons so far are as follows: No. 1 Do your best. No. 2 Start now. No. 3 Choose friends wisely. No. 4 Keep an open mind. No. 5 Get up!No. 6 Call your mom!
I believe that the final lesson before you go to college is both the easiest and the hardest at the same time. It is a lesson that I often fail to heed. It is a lesson that, if taken to heart, can make your life simpler while helping you to get the most out of every experience. The lesson is to live in the moment while planning for the future.
In college, it is really easy to live in the moment. There are many that will go to college and do nothing but live in the moment. They will do nothing more and then return to wherever they came from after a couple of semesters. In the end, they will be nothing but a cautionary tale. They will be just another student that went to college and did nothing but live in the moment, without planning for the future.
One of the best ways I have found to live in the moment and get the most out of every day is to plan ahead. Planning ahead eases stress, and less stress makes it easier to concentrate on what is going on in the present without worrying about the future. Of course, the best way to plan for the future is to give it the attention it deserves and “live in the moment” when doing it. The best way to minimize your productivity in any task is to divide your attention. Watching television and studying seems like a good idea, but you’re better off giving your studies your undivided attention.
As I said, it is simple. There is a time for everything. There is a time to play, and there is a time to work. Most importantly, there is a time to study. It is important to get the most out of your college experience, but the education you get is the most important. The education you get sets the foundation for your future.
Your grades will decide what doors will be open to you. The knowledge you receive will help determine what you are able to do with the opportunities that come your way. Living in the moment allows you to get the most out of every class in the same way that it helps you get the most out of a rush party. Planning ahead allows you the freedom to live in the moment by recognizing what is important to you. Recognizing what is important to you helps you make sure that the activities included in the moments you live are the ones that are going to get you where you want to be.
The lessons I have written about in the last seven weeks are not rocket science and are not lessons that I have always abided by. I have made a huge amount of mistakes in my life, and following these lessons would have prevented many of them. My only hope for you is that you are able to learn from my mistakes and ultimately have a better life than I have. In the end, your happiness and good grades are all I wish upon you.
I can’t believe you will be gone to college by the time this is printed. They told me your growing up would come quickly and I needed to pay attention. I tried to pay attention, but it still came in the blink of an eye. If someone would have asked me 18 years ago what kind of man I hoped you would become, I could not have even hoped you would have turned out as well as you have.
It is your turn now. See what you can do with it. Many things in life are decided for us, many are not. It is those things in life that are not decided that allow us the opportunity to truly shine. There is nothing that makes a father shine more than the success of his oldest son. That is true for every father, especially those of us way up in the CHEAP SEATS!
Bill James is a criminal defense lawyer and co founder of the James Law Firm with offices in Little Rock, Conway, and Fayetteville, Ark. He may be contacted at Bill@JamesFirm.com.