College Students Need More Than Classroom Smarts to Succeed
In his book, How to Create a Magical College Life, author and motivational speaker Morris Taylor says students need much more than good grades in order to succeed in a college environment. According to Taylor, many students drop out of college not because they weren’t smart enough or couldn’t do the work, but because they couldn’t organize their lives and their priorities to handle the variety of challenges that come with making the transition from high to college.
Round Lake Heights, IL (PRWEB) July 13, 2006
In How to Create a Magical College Life, author Morris Taylor challenges high school students to spend as much time thinking about how they plan to succeed in college as they do deciding what school to attend.
“Most students fail not because they chose the wrong school, but because they aren’t prepared to handle the challenges that come with making the mental transition from high school to college,” says Taylor, a motivational speaker.
In his book, subtitled 25 Strategies for Better Grades, Healthier Relationships and Super Self-Confidence, Taylor stresses the importance of being responsible, setting personal goals, having the right attitude, learning public speaking skills and even consciously inviting racial and cultural diversity into your life.
“Lots of students drop out of college not because they weren’t smart enough or couldn’t do the work,” he says, “but because they couldn’t organize their lives and their priorities to deal with the academic and social pressures of college.”
In doing research for How to Create a Magical College Life, Taylor found that many high school students enter college with a lot of emotional baggage and bad habits.
“Many of them never had to exercise self-discipline in high school,” he says. “They’ve never set and achieved meaningful goals, can’t manage their money, and have no idea how big a difference networking with the right people can make.”
He says students also face pressure to become “some sort of smooth and confident social butterfly, virtually overnight. I want them to know that these are life skills critical to their college success. The good news is that these skills are relatively easy to learn once you understand how important they are and how they can benefit you.”
Dr. Jena Khodadad, a faculty member of Rush Medical College at Rush University in Chicago, says Taylor’s book. “asks probing questions, provides meaningful analysis and offers insightful observations and stories. You can apply his advice to all stages of life. This is a book I plan to keep on my shelf together with my volumes on science and medicine.” Khodadad says she plans to recommend Taylor’s book to her medical students.
Taylor has written five other books and is a popular trainer and college lecturer. He is the owner and president of Talisman Training Associates LLC, which specializes in leadership and communication skills training for businesses and educational institutions.
For more information on Morris Taylor or his book, How to Create a Magical College Life, visit www. morristaylor. org or call 888-235-8681.
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