Someday You'll Be 40...

Read Time: 3 Minutes

Josh, someday you’ll be 40.

And you can be 40 with a doctorate degree,

Or you can be 40 without a doctorate degree.

That was how the Dean of the College of Business ended his pitch.

We had bumped into each other in the hall at the university where we both work.

I brought up the Doctor of Business Administration program, mentioned how I had been thinking about applying, but I wasn’t sure if my background in Education really fit what the DBA program offered.

The Dean was very generous with his time.

He shared a lot with me about the program, about how the principles could be applied to many different fields, etc.

But then he got real.

He knew I had young children.

He instinctively knew the conflict I had about committing to so much time away from them.

So he told me that, yes, the program takes about 4 years, and he asked me how old I was.

36, I told him.

And he dropped the words that I led this message with.

Then he said:

If you get it, you’ll be 40 with your doctorate.

And you’ll be a doctor for the rest of your life.

That was back in 2020.

Now, I’m a mere few weeks away from completing my program.

And soon I’ll shift into the second phase of my life.

The phase where I’m known as Dr. Josh Schoonover.

This message isn’t to brag.

This isn’t to show off how great I am.

This is because I KNOW that there is someone reading this right now who has the same questions I did.

Maybe that’s YOU.

If so, let me tell you…

As the Future You…

It’s worth it.

It’s worth the unknown.

It’s worth the challenges.

It’s worth the people around me not understanding me.

It’s worth the arguments I’ve had with my wife about the amount of time this has taken.

All of it.

It’s worth it.

So chase that dream, whatever it is. As long as it’s legal, ethical and moral.

As long as it takes.

4 years ago, in my first class, I thought about how long of a journey I had in front of me and got a little overwhelmed.

Then I took a deep breath.

I reminded myself…

I’m not donig this for today.

I’m doing this for 4 years from now, and every day thereafter.

And let me tell you…

I’m damn proud of myself.

As John Wooden, the famous basketball coach, said:

Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best you are capable of becoming.

That satisfaction is real.

And it can be yours.

You just need to take the first step.

And 9,999 more steps, but we can worry about that later.

For now, just take the first step.

I promise you, no matter how small that first step it, it’s getting you closer to the point where you CAN…

Live Your American Dream.

Josh