Matthew Perry, a highly successful analyst who works for a top investment bank in London by day and enjoys life-coaching clients across the world by night nearly had his dreams shattered by an unexpected failure he encountered at University. But how can someone of such high value have their dreams shattered? Especially as early on as University? Fair questions both! Well, this is Matthews story in his own words of how he went from being hopeless, afraid and defeated to picking himself up and achieving his goals – not letting defeat to defeat him.
I was never the brightest kid in school but always managed to do enough to move onto the next level. I can recall studying far more than my peers all throughout college but I did not allow that to deter me. I simply accepted that I needed to put in double the hours and did just that which got me through in the end. However, during University my approach simply did not work.
I always wanted to work in finance so chose to study Economics at University. I was absolutely delighted when I received my A-level results and knew my place at University was guaranteed. Although my grade during the first year of University wasn't great, I was not disheartened much as the first year didn't count towards the degree. However, when I received the lowest grade possible during the second year, it really hit me that I may not graduate. This struck so much fear in me – I felt hopeless and defeated. All the dreams I had of making it big in finance in the city, travelling around the world and making a global impact in financial analytics suddenly shattered before me. This was exacerbated by the fact that I now had to chase down the highest grade possible if I stood a chance of averaging out the desired grade required for entry jobs at the time. A poor situation indeed.
After some thought, I realised I had two options. To either continue my degree or drop out of University. But I didn't want to quit, I'd rather try and fail than never know what may have been. I then analysed the situation using the following thought process, I asked myself:
Q: What is the worst that could possibly happen?
Well, I would not have a degree and would not be able to get a job in finance. I would have to do something different and take it as it comes, making the best of things. And in all honesty, I wasn't going to be killed, sentenced to jail or be barred from society. Living in the UK meant there would always be plenty of other opportunities available to me if I was willing to work for them and come what may I would always do my best.
Q: Am I able to accept this?
Well, I must! Ruining my peace of mind and being stuck in my own head won't do me any good and besides, there are plenty of people that became successful without a formal education. I know it's not the path I once envisioned but that's life, perhaps something good may come of this. Who knows?
Q: What can I do to make the situation better? How can I convert this negative into a positive? How can I take this lemon and make it into a lemonade?
I would now be strategic to save time. I would reach out to professors early on during the summer before the semester began and ask them for the notes for the year. Upon explaining my situation, they kindly agreed and I got a two-month head start. I also started practising yoga and mediation to keep my mind cool and attitude positive. I thought to myself, if I'm to go down I would go down fighting! I made a vow that I would study every moment of every day to ensure I hit my target. And even if I still did not succeed, one reason for my failure would never be that I did not spend enough time focusing or doing everything that was in my power to succeed.
This was over six years ago and I am glad to say that I got my degree with the desired grade! I not only learnt how to work efficiently, but realised the importance of keeping mentally and physically well during testing times. I learnt that it's not about working hard, rather, working smart. The attempt of turning my negative situation into a positive one got me so busy, my worries and fears about the end result totally vanished. I started enjoying studying a subject I had a real passion for with such intensity and learnt that reading is a habit that should be kept constant. And I am glad to say, after all these years I still use the habit of daily yoga, meditation and reading to pursue my goals. The approach that got me through University is now being used in my career, financial, familial, spiritual and health goals. This lemon was definitely required to make the lemonade I needed to keep me hydrated for the rest of my life. Cheers, to a cool glass of hard-earned lemonade!
Well done Matthew! You not only got yourself out of an overwhelming situation, but you rose to the challenge and took key lessons from it. Keeping up these acquired habits and using the lessons learnt whilst pursuing future goals is what makes you successful, not only the end result.
I for one am inspired by Matthew. To never surrender in the face of adversity and if we must go down, we shall go down fighting! When carrying out a decision we have made, we will either succeed and get our desired result or learn a lot from the journey and use those lessons going forward. Either way, we win! Perhaps Matthew's story relates to your current situation? Perhaps you need to convert your negative situation into a positive by a simple change in attitude from one of fear to one of fight. If so, use the PDF file attached below and get busy. Remember, "we never regret action, only inaction".
"I never worry about action, but only inaction." – Winston Churchill
"Great things should be done without hesitation so that the feeling of danger would not weaken the courage and speed." – Julius Caesar
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