"Diligence is the mother of good fortune." - Benjamin Disraeli
"If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. Then quit. There's no point in being a damn fool about it." - W.C. Fields
With this much conflicting advice out there, it's no wonder success seems so hard to come by. Hell, most people can't even really define it.
Try it. What is success?
Success, to me, is achieving what you hope to achieve. Some people measure that in the millions of dollars in the bank account, which is an understandable way of determining a measurable goal, but--well, isn't that kind of random? Is there any reason to say that, say, one million dollars will get you where you want to go, but five or seven hundred thousand won't?
Tim Ferriss, author of The 4-Hour Work Week, puts forth that success isn't about the money at all. He posits, in fact, that if you can earn enough in four hours a week to go live the lifestyle you want touring another country (where the cost of living is, for the sake of the book, assumed to be much lower) then you should do that. THAT is success, to him. Unfortunately, it assumes that your ideal place has a less expensive cost of living.
Want to make a million dollars? Good luck with that. It's possible, certainly, but it's also rare. Want to make enough money to move to a foreign country and live on pennies? I highly recommend Ferriss's book in that case. But most people I run into aren't in either of those groups. Most people just want to feel successful and happy doing what they do living where they are.
If you're one of those, then you're in the right place. I've been in adult education for a decade and a half, and I've been a Dean for over a third of that. I've watched people grow and succeed, and I've watched their success take astounding and miraculous turns. I'd like to think I have some idea what it takes to get there. What I'd like to do is explore that. It's why I've started this blog. Please, then, join me as I engage in a discussion, on a roughly twice-per-week basis, of what I've seen on the topic of what makes people successful.
Why the Grumpy Dean? Well, I've been called that, for one thing. When I take my "Grumpy" cup onto campus, people smile and nod. I don't think I'm grumpy, really, unless you catch me before I've consumed my requisite three cups of coffee. But I seem that way, I guess, probably because I tell people like it is. If you have an attitude problem, I'll tell you. If you deserve the F you got in a class, I'll tell you why. I've found that it doesn't do anybody any good to avoid the tough conversations when it comes to personal and professional growth.
Grumpy I am, then.
Please, join me.
