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If you really want to succeed, the secret is simple: study. If you compare what a worker who just finished High School (which is the basic level they ask for any job) earns, against what someone who has finished a professional career, a master’s degree or a doctorate, the difference really is enormous.

A person who just finished High School has an income that is just at the poverty line. Instead, a professional has the money to live comfortably and fully enjoy their family. Good homes, good cars, good medical care, holidays and all the comforts of modern life. It is estimated that with only four additional years of study the difference in income over 30 years of work is more than one million dollars.

Let’s do some quick accounting; a minimum wage person earns $ 7.25 an hour ($ 58 a day) when he gets a job. If you are sick with the flu and your mom takes you to the general practitioner for a 15-minute consultation, the fee is $ 50, so they can earn $ 200 in one hour (on a good day $ 1,600 or more). In two weeks a professional can earn what a minimum wage employee earns in a year. In addition, the physical effort is very different; it is not the same to be working where every day you are moving heavy things and doing strenuous work, compared to the physical effort of a professional, which in most professions is minimal because it is intellectual work.

Have confidence in yourself, you must believe in yourself; do not ever get defeated. Dare to dream. If you have a dream, pursue it. Set goals and have the courage, determination, and dedication to achieve them. In life, you will always find obstacles and pitfalls, but you must have the will to rise and persevere. Only the one who gives up is defeated.

If you want to be part of a success story – study. Many students do not finish high school because they did not arrive well prepared in their subjects from the previous years. In Middle School, you learn the bases that will allow you to succeed later in your studies. All construction requires a good foundation, and here we are laying the foundations of what you will build tomorrow.

At Middle School, you must create solid foundations in reading, writing, and mathematics. I do not worry about how low your math skills are; I offer you that if you attend class regularly, if you pay attention, if you do the assigned activities and you frankly consult your doubts in order to clarify them, you will learn what is necessary to get ahead in your studies. I have 30 years as a teacher, and many of my alumni are successful; Even former students, some who had never passed a Texas state test, have achieved Commended Performance and then have achieved a professional career.

Success depends on the will rather than the talent. The foundations of your future and that of your family are built today. Dare to succeed.