Passion counts twice

Ken Coleman has a popular podcast about loving what you do and doing what you love.  I find the idea of the sweet spot fascinating.  He defines it as the crossroads between your talents (what you do best) and your passion (what you love to do most).  I strive to help my students find their sweet spot early and then identify a path to reach it.  One quick starting points is the 16-personalities quiz. We start there and then it takes countless hours of thinking, reflecting, discussing, and soul searching; and that's only half the battle.  The half I can somewhat help with. 

The other half is all you.  You are the only one that can walk the road set before you, determine if it is worth it.  Deep down you know if you want it bad enough.  You may not have what it takes yet, and that is ok.  If your sweet spot is worth it to you, you will find a way.  Your education will fine tune your talents, you have the passion. For putting in the hard work of not giving up on your dream check out this TED talk on grit. There is a book to go along with it, and our library has it. Check it out!



Author and speaker Angela Duckworth defines grit as passion + perseverance. Put another way, caring about something enough to keep trying long enough to make it happen.  So let me say it again, you may not have what it takes right now, and that is ok. If your sweet spot is worth it to you, you will find a way. Keep trying, and if that doesn't work, dig deep and try again (and again...).  Keep equipping yourself with what you need to get to your sweet spot and do what you love for the rest of your life.  Keep plowing. There is no stopping on the road to greatness.  There is resting, but not stopping.  If you want to know your grit score, check out this handy online quiz and let's talk about it at our next meeting, or leave your comments for discussion below.  Get after it! <><

Advising

[ As of Spring 2022 I am only taking in new advisees from the B.S. Sport Management Online program. If you are a current advisee or in the online program read on. If you are in the B. S. Sport Management traditional program you can contact Dr. Ternes (nternes@astate.edu) or Dr. Yu (hyu@aste.edu) for advising. M. S. Sport Adminstration traditional students are advised by Dr. Church (bchurch@astate.edu) , and M. S. Sport Administration Online students are advised By Dr. LaVetter (lavetter@astate.edu). ]

One of the privileges of my faculty and undergraduate coordinator position is that I get to advise students.  I relish the time I spend talking to you about you.  This is the time we talk about your hopes and dreams, I help you plan for your future (I get giddy about this. It's my bread and butter!), and I make the time I wish I could dedicate to you each class and each day during the whole semester.  During this time we plan a course-path to best reach those hopes and dreams.

There are, however, important things I want you to keep in mind about advising.   Advising is by its very nature a recommendation.  In this case, a professor (me) making a recommendation of possible courses you can take in an upcoming term based on the information at hand.  This recommendation is not the only option.  I have your best interest at heart and will advise what I think best, but I am not even remotely close to perfect.  It is up to you to decide what is best for you, because you know you best. You can find course offerings here.

Second, my advice does not transfer the responsibility for your degree or the fulfillment of your degree requirements onto me.  You must be familiar with your degree requirements.  At Arkansas State, these are listed in the bulletin of the year you are enrolled in.  Typically this is the school-year when you first enrolled.  There is a repository of bulletins on the A-State website.  Familiarize yourself with yours and take charge.  You can get a snapshot of what courses you still need to take in your degree works.  The Registrar's website has information on how to access it. You can also find how to access it in the video below. 

Email me a list of courses you want to take with a PDF of your degree works tracker. Once I evaluate the courses based on your degree tracker I will remove your hold. You may also make an advising appointment on PackSupport after you send me the degree tracker and course list email. 

Best wishes in the upcoming term!!