The-Slight-Edge

Afterword 197
the earth’s resources? How should I best give of my talents and time to help my
community and help those in need?” Commit to being responsible for your
education and career development. Teachers and parents are not ultimately who
will decide if you reach your aspirations or attain your dream jobs—you will be!
Read how Slight Edge reader Alex Cross took responsibility for his
own development.
I was having a hard time staying focused in my studies and was
struggling to keep up. I was failing in half the classes I was taking and was
slowly adopting a bad attitude toward school in general. At the urging of
my dad I started to read at least 10 pages of a good book a day. I started
with SUCCESS for Teens: Real Teens Talk About Using the Slight
Edge. I started implementing daily study habits into my schedule and took
small steps to improve my academic success.
My grades improved to the rank of AB honor roll. At the end of the
school year I received an award for “most improved student.” The next
year I continued the regimen of ten pages a night. That year I received a
letter of commendation from President Obama for scholastic achievement
and have been on AB honor roll ever since. I even recently received a
commendation from Duke University for testing in the top 5% in the nation
in a standardized test.
No matter where are in life, high school, college, our first job, or building our
careers we can all learn a lesson from Alex and commit to being the driver of our
own development and our ultimate destiny.
There are numerous other areas of our lives where the daily decisions we
make either move us closer or further away from our goals. What else is important
to you? What else pulls at your heart? If it is environmental consciousness, trace
back your carbon footprint on the earth to daily activities. If it is excellence in a
sport, trace back the success in that sport to your daily activities. If it is academic
excellence, trace back your end goal to your daily activities. The important part
is to stay committed to what is important to you and stay committed every day.
In a society that has a lack of commitment, we change channels, cell phones,
jobs, even significant others at an alarming rate. Wouldn’t it be refreshing if a
generation was so sure of what they wanted and so committed to their cause they
practiced unshakable commitment? I desire from the bottom of my heart to see
this happen and I hope you will join me in living that out.
I believe the future is truly your canvas, where every possibility is available
to you if you will only harness everything you need to make your goals and