How To Be successful

Here’s a few words of advice from an old dog that’s made a few mistakes on his life’s journey.

How To Be Successful

I remember when I was a young man, I always believed that my future was predetermined and I just had to play out the role that was already laid out for me. My Dad always wanted me to get a degree in Engineering, but I really wanted to be a Forest Ranger and work in the great outdoors. I decided to go to Texas Tech to get a degree in Engineering as this seemed to be the in thing to do.

The first semester I was there I took 19 hours of classes and ended up with a grade point average of 1.7. I did two things wrong, I was trying to get a degree in record time and I had overloaded myself, and I was used to just going to class in Junior College without studying outside of class so I failed miserably.. I had made two Ds, three Cs and one F my first semester and was placed on notice to be removed from school if I did not improve my Grade Point Average,

I had thoughts of changing majors to Forestry, but after a lot of thought, I decided I was going to do what it took be a Engineer. So I got busy, and started working the system, by learning the teachers to predict what they would ask on tests, gathering all the historical tests I could find from other students, going to all classes and taking good class notes, doing all the homework, and doing some serious studying outside of class. The next semester, my GPA improved to 2.8. I had learned how to learn and now I was on my way. For the next 2 years I was there, my GPA improved to above 3.0 plus each semester and I made the Deans Honor Roll. So I received my Bachelors Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Texas Tech with hard work and determination.

As I look back now, I believe that selecting someone that has learned how to learn with hard work and determination was what the hiring companies were looking for in their hires. My success as a Process Engineer resulted from a continuous effort learning new talents and skills with hard work and determination while gaining an experience background in my assigned area of engineering expertise.

So to all of you high school graduates wondering what career you should pursue, it makes no difference. Just select something you think you will enjoy doing and learn the field, put in the hard work and you will surely be successful whether you get a degree or not. The combination of continuous learning, hard work, determination, and gaining experience will surely make you successful.

Thank you for reading How To Be Successful,
Bill