Tonight I attended a seminar for entrepreneurial women with my wife. It was inspiring to see women, some of whom were in their mid twenties making in excess of 100K dollars a year in sales. The thing that I noticed however is how many (if not all) of them had integrated their work life in sales with their personal lives. In other words, many of them never considered themselves "off duty" but instead took advantage of every opportunity which passed their way. They had trained themselves to adhere to a work ethic that over time had become second nature and no longer "felt" like work, even though in reality it was.
This is no magic pill, no get rich quick, no easy 1-2-3 plan to success but instead the time proven method of hard work equals success. The thing is, success in online learning takes very much the same approach. It is not easier, not necessarily faster unless you work faster, certainly not less work, but instead you have to become accustomed to a different type of lifestyle, one where working becomes part of your daily routine as natural as brushing your teeth (assuming you do brush).
What's funny is when working on my undergrad degree, I took 2 classes at a time for 18 straight months in the accelerated 6 week format. Once I had been doing it for a while it really didn't feel too much like work, just part of my daily routine. Only when I had actually finished did I realize the breakneck pace that I had become accustomed to. I will admit that after a while the pressure began to take its toll on me, but I had a clear goal in mind and would not relent until I had reached that goal. People would exclaim at how fast I had finished my degree thinking that I had somehow taken some kind of shortcut or had taken an easy major when in fact it came down to work ethic.
Here is a reality check; before you enroll online you need to ask yourself these questions. Do I have a solid work ethic? Can I change my life and live my life around a solid work ethic? What do I define as a solid work ethic? Am I adaptable to change? Can I put goals ahead of personal comfort?
To succeed in online learning as a full time working adult you have to have a work ethic which is stronger than that many of your peers. Do you?
---Cajun