Personal Development is the creation of your personal philosophy; the values and beliefs by which you will live your life. Pragmatic in nature, it is a step by step process without short cuts where each step builds upon the knowledge gained in the previous step. And although I hope you find better behaviors to model than I have been able to provide, I do want to share a step in my personal development with which I failed to properly develop; the completion of a college degree.
Although there are certainly many exceptions, I believe you would agree that most smart people, those most able to identify and focus on what's important during life's journey, those that seem to journey along life's path farther, quicker and with a greater degree of quality, often appear to have followed much of the same road map. They graduate from high school, attend college; practice and apply what they learned, locate and develop their passion and enhance it through hard work and commitment. I failed to follow that orderly process and it was certainly a mistake.
Most of what you learn in college is third person and therefore its significance is difficult to measure when compared to a first person, "school of hard knocks" approach to personal development. When utilizing life's pragmatic, cash value approach we often miss the speed and clarity a more systematic conceptual approach provides. The fact that we develop a larger, superior knowledge base through a critical thinking approach is lost in the misplaced since of achievement we "feel" through hands on accomplishment.
I failed to fully complete my degree and although I attended college, it was so late in life that I missed that period of time with which to take what I learned "out for a spin" and practice. I missed the richer, fuller body experience of which a college degree is a part, failing to leave you and society the value added legacy which is a shared responsibility of all mankind.
There is no doubt that you will be successful at whatever you choose to do in life, with or without a college degree. You have excellent character and have demonstrated a willingness to work hard in accomplishing desired goals. As every father wants for his child, I simply want your life to be filled with a series of satisfying accomplishments leaving a meaningful legacy that upon reflection you and others will find value added. A college degree makes the accomplishment of that desired legacy easier and personally fulfilling.
I love you Son…..
