Note to Students: There Are No Shortcuts to Becoming Your Best Self

Remind students that skipping steps in their learning and development leaves them unprepared for future challenges.

Hey Fam,

Thanks for stopping by.

What if I told you the fastest path to success is a lie?

So many of us are obsessed with finding shortcuts and ways to go around the hard work and uncomfortable moments…you know…the grind. But what happens when you take the easy route and realize you aren’t prepared for what comes with your success?

In my Senior Residency course, I challenged my students to think about this by asking one simple question: “Whoever wants an A in this course, please stand.”

Everyone stood up. Then I asked them something that made them think again: “Are you ready to put in the work, day after day, to earn it?” That’s when the conversation got real. I said, “If you were absent from more than two classes this semester, sit down.” A couple of students sat. “If you’ve been late, sit down.” A few more sat. Then I said, “If you’ve missed an assignment deadline or avoided participating in class discussions, have a seat.”

With each question, more students sat down. By the end, only a few remained standing, maybe five in a room full of students.

I asked them to look around the room. I said, “These students still standing? They represent the standard of excellence in this class. The difference between good and great isn’t some complicated concept. It’s simply showing up day after day, through the ups and downs, managing what you can control.” I reminded them, “I didn’t ask who had the highest grades or the most impressive projects. This was about consistency and the “small” things most people ignore.” I had the students who were sitting give the students who were still standing a round of applause.

Then, I paused momentarily to let the students process what happened.

I told them that consistency is the “shortcut” to success. Rarely is it pure talent, and rarely is it luck. It’s the little things like showing up, participating, and meeting deadlines that stack up and prepare you for the bigger moments. Without consistency, even the most talented can find themselves unprepared when the opportunity finally arrives. Success isn’t built in a single moment; it’s earned over time in the quiet grind of everyday actions that most people overlook.

We then transitioned to an exercise that transformed the class that day.

After that eye-opening reflection, I told the students we were about to take a journey. Before we began, I asked for a student volunteer who sees themselves as a goal setter to take on a challenge. I asked them to step outside and write down their dream on a large piece of paper. Then, I had the students set up a maze with the desks in class and, along the way, strategically placed “gems” within the maze to be collected by our student volunteer. Each “gem” symbolized something important: a bottle of water (self-care), a notebook (organizing ideas and planning), a marker (creativity), a paper plate (time management), and a book (experience and wisdom).

I had the student who volunteered to go through the maze be blindfolded and prepare to walk through the maze with a guide by their side.

There was a twist, though. The guide was there to help and give clues and advice, but there was also a “distraction,” another student whose job was to say things to throw them off track. The maze was deliberately difficult. The “gems,” representing the tools they’d need in life, were placed in hard-to-find spots. The student blindfolded, relied on their guide to find those gems, but along the way, they missed some. Whether it was because the distractions were louder or the path seemed too complicated, those gems were left behind. When the student finished the maze, I didn’t take the blindfold off. Instead, I told them, “You’ve reached the final stage…the college path.” I laid out four pieces of bright-colored paper, each representing a year of college.

Then, I asked them a potentially “life-changing” question: “Do you want the fastest or easiest path?”

Like so many of us, they chose the fastest when faced with this question. I took away three of the four steps, leaving only the senior year for them to step on. Then, I asked them to take off the blindfold and look at their chosen path. They could see the gap immediately. The distance between where they stood and needed to be was too far to jump. “Get from one step to the other without taking more than one step,” I instructed. The student tried jumping but couldn’t reach it.

They stood there, stranded between freshman and junior year, realizing they couldn’t leap over the gaps that had been left by skipping steps.

?For the sake of the exercise, I moved them along to the final step, but this time, I asked them some real-life questions: “Draw your favorite cartoon character.” The student hesitated because they had nothing to draw with the “creativity marker” because they’d skipped that gem in the maze. I asked, “How would you recover from a challenging week?” Again, silence. They hadn’t picked up the “self-care water” gem, so they lacked resilience. I asked, “How are you with deadlines and paying attention to the little things?” They struggled because time management and planning were skills they skipped. Finally, I asked, “What wisdom would you pass on to someone younger about your journey?” They struggled to answer because they had skipped the gem that gave them the experience (the book).

At that moment, standing on a single step with a gap they couldn’t cross, the student realized that the journey matters. Every step, experience, and “gem” they had skipped in the maze had a purpose, even though they couldn’t see it at the time. Skipping those steps hadn’t saved them time; it had left them unprepared for the challenges that come with achieving their goal.

It wasn’t about deserving the “dream” opportunity but about being prepared for it.

As the class watched this unfold, I could feel the weight of the lesson sink in. Everyone was reflecting. I told my students, “This is why we can’t skip steps.” Every missed gem in the maze represented something you’ll need in life, whether in college or beyond. Skipping steps doesn’t necessarily mean you’re unworthy of your goals it means you’re unprepared. And when the opportunity comes, you’ll struggle to reach it, not because you don’t deserve it, but because you don’t have the skills to handle it.

Lessons I learned

1. Emphasize consistency over perfection.

Encourage students to show up consistently, complete small tasks with care, and build habits that lead to long-term success. It’s not about the highest grades but about developing the discipline to handle easy and challenging moments.

2. Use metaphors to make learning relatable.

Connecting classroom tasks to real-life skills through metaphors helps students see the bigger picture. By linking simple actions (like finding a “gem”) to critical skills (like self-care or time management), students grasp the long-term value of what they’re learning.

3.?Highlight the value of the process, not just the results.

Remind students that skipping steps in their learning and development leaves them unprepared for future challenges. The process of learning, no matter how slow or difficult, equips them with the skills to handle real-world opportunities.

We often want the fastest route, the straight shot to success. But the truth is, the slow, steady path is where we gain the tools we need. Those small steps ... deadlines, participation, and showing up on time are what prepare us for life’s bigger challenges. In life, there are no shortcuts to becoming your best self.

The process, as boring as it might feel, is what equips you for the moments that matter.

Thanks for your time today.

I appreciate you.?

Much Love,

Dr. Jae