{"id":2073,"date":"2024-03-28T14:14:30","date_gmt":"2024-03-28T14:14:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.mun.ca\/studentblog\/?p=2073"},"modified":"2024-04-01T11:49:04","modified_gmt":"2024-04-01T11:49:04","slug":"why-settle-when-you-can-be-and-achieve-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.mun.ca\/studentblog\/why-settle-when-you-can-be-and-achieve-more\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Settle When You Can Be and Achieve More!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Nothing is impossible for the one who believes so. This summarizes Dan\u2019s transition into Canada.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dan came to Canada as an international student. Back in his home country, he was a thriving professional. Upon arriving here, he was allowed by his employer to work remotely while studying. So, the ambitious professional concluded he wouldn’t take any survival job. But as weeks went by, that plan fell through the cracks because his heavy salary which was paid in his local currency steadily became worthless whenever converted to dollars. So to balance things here, he had to settle; taking a low wage job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interestingly, a policy was introduced a few weeks later allowing students to work full time. Dan\u2019s initial thought was: it\u2019s time to go full time with his survival job. But he asked: \u201cWhy settle!\u201d And so he resolved: \u201cI\u2019ll be more!\u201d So he started applying for professional jobs. Within 2 weeks, he had applied for over 60 positions. Then rejections trooped in, and some online assessment invitations. He even made it to some interviews before some final rejections. But he kept going, and eventually, he landed a job with one of the Big 4 Consulting firms. That\u2019s how his story changed. Words went around, and everyone was shocked. When a friend asked how he did it, he said: \u201cI just knew there was more. So I went for it!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a true story. In fact, I am that \u201cDan\u201d. And for an international student in his early days at the time, that was unusual. This is not because I\u2019m special. I am just an ordinary man who has given himself the permission to thrive. And just like me, you have the right to win big. All you need is to first, give yourself permission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve shared my story just to remind you that you can be more. That you\u2019re a student doesn\u2019t mean you can\u2019t get a great job or even start a business. You can achieve anything you want. You can thrive academically, professionally and in all other facets at once. But first you must think and desire better for yourself. For we manifest what we covet. There is an employer somewhere that needs your skill, an organization that would just want to have you on their team and a firm that would bet on you. There\u2019s a Prof that can make your thesis writing a lot easier. There\u2019s a grant out there that can support your research! There is absolutely no limit to what you can be and do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So what\u2019s that thing that has caused you to settle? Yours may be a survival job that makes you feel undervalued. Or a lack of progress with your research makes you depressed. It could even be a past failure holding you spell bound. Whatever it is, it\u2019s time to look beyond. What lies ahead beats what\u2019s in the past hands down. The question is: can you see it? And if yes, what would you do about it today? Remember, if you want anything badly enough and chase it madly, you\u2019ll get it.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Now ready to take action? Make a list of those abandoned goals and aspirations; the ones thrashed due to current realities or self-doubt. Then, draw a big square and divide it into four equal sections. In no particular order, write \u201cwhat I want<\/em>, what I\u2019ll do<\/em>, where I\u2019d start <\/em>and when I\u2019ll do it\u201d <\/em>on each of the sides. Then note somewhere on the page a personal commitment to act on each. You may even choose to simply write your goal as plainly and simply as you wish. The key here is to jot it down. Make sure to paste it somewhere you can see everyday, and most importantly, do something about it daily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You don\u2019t need to settle. You can be and achieve more. Don\u2019t let your background or current circumstance keep your back on the ground. A bit of productive doggedness and aggression towards your goals is all you need. If you define what you want, what you\u2019ll do, when you\u2019ll do it and most importantly, follow through with planned action on it, it\u2019s only a matter of time till you get it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I hope this helps you to dream and pursue more. Can\u2019t wait to read or hear your story!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

***<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paul Akingbola<\/em><\/strong> is an entrepreneur, consultant and coach passionate about helping people accelerate growth in life, career and relationships.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nothing is impossible for the one who believes so. This summarizes Dan\u2019s transition into Canada. Dan came to Canada as an international student. Back in his home country, he was a thriving professional. Upon arriving here, he was allowed by his employer to work remotely while studying. So, the ambitious professional concluded he wouldn’t take … [Read more…]<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":165,"featured_media":64,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[21,74],"class_list":{"0":"entry","1":"post","2":"publish","3":"author-poakingbola","4":"post-2073","6":"format-standard","7":"has-post-thumbnail","8":"category-student-blog","9":"post_tag-grad-life","10":"post_tag-grad-school-success"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.mun.ca\/studentblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2073","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.mun.ca\/studentblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.mun.ca\/studentblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.mun.ca\/studentblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/165"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.mun.ca\/studentblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2073"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/wp.mun.ca\/studentblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2073\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2080,"href":"https:\/\/wp.mun.ca\/studentblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2073\/revisions\/2080"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.mun.ca\/studentblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/64"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.mun.ca\/studentblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2073"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.mun.ca\/studentblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2073"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.mun.ca\/studentblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2073"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}