What if I told you a story of a person who landed almost $15 million in business and they attributed their success to hard work, having a strategic plan and perseverance? Who are you picturing in your mind right now? Maybe a salesperson at a Fortune 500 company? Maybe an Olympic athlete who won a gold medal and then signed a lucrative endorsement deal? Well, I’m talking about an 18-year-old student at a high school in Georgia. Her name is Madison Crowell. What I love about Madison is that her parents wanted to make sure that she graduated from college without any student debt. It took her dad 20 years to pay off his student loans and he vowed that would not happen to their daughter.
So, they started looking at colleges when she was in the 7th grade and started planning out where she was going to apply for scholarships. And it worked! At 18 years old, she received 231 acceptance letters with scholarship offers totaling $14.7 million. You read that correctly, almost $15 million! During all these interviews with the press, she said she wants to inspire other kids from her low-income neighborhood that they too can achieve more than what they think is offered in their area. Your zip code does not equal your future. She says anybody could do what she did.
What can you and I learn from Madison? I think we can learn a very simple lesson. Obviously have a goal, have a vision for yourself to create a strategic plan. Where do you see yourself? Remember, you don’t need to have all your ducks lined up in a row. Just start with your end duck (your ultimate front-row seat), and then work hard and ducks will appear along the way. Persevere because the road to your front-row is never going to be an easy path. There are going to be detours and speed bumps along the way. You can’t avoid them, but you can persevere and be resilient. Every time you get knocked down, get back up again and try again.
Finally, work hard. Nothing comes easy. If things came easy, everybody would be doing it. It’s the hard work that makes accomplishing a goal so rewarding.
Madison plans to study sports medicine and has already visualized her future. You’ll see a picture of her with a lab coat proudly labeled, “Future Doctor Madison.” How cool is that?
By the way, I am super stoked that of all the 231 offers, she chose to attend High Point University in High Point North Carolina. I happen to be their Personal Development Expert in residence as part of their Access to Innovators Program. What that means is I get to go to HPU every year and speak to the students, including the entire freshman class. I can’t wait to meet Maddie in person. Maddie, if you’re reading this, I will see you in October on campus, and I hope to see you sitting in the front row!
PS – if you haven’t heard of High Point University, it is a case study in massive transformation and breaking the status quo of what a university looks like.It is the premier life skills university with 99% of the students graduating with a job, internship or enrollment in graduate school. I highly recommend reading their president, Dr. Nido Qubein’s new book “Extraordinary Transformation”. You will learn what he and his team did to have more than 400 other university presidents ask how he did it!
Enjoy your Front-Row Friday –
Your Head Usher,
Marilyn
