By Malvina Fahel

In case you are low on motivation as the New Year’s resolution commotion settles, these tips will serve as a nudge to push you back on the track to success.

I hope that you will reach into the depths of your heart and find some much-needed determination and hope – using this article as guidance, of course.

Since I started at SMU in 2019, I have searched for inspiration regarding self-improvement. I have collected tidbits of advice from those I trust to be authorities in their fields.

I hereby present my findings to you that I hope will give you the same spark they gave me.

After all, we are meant to be world changers.

I received the following pieces of advice from Nick Decker, a trustworthy family friend of mine. Part of the finance industry for many years now, Mr. Decker has led a life that serves as a model for my own.

• There is nothing more interesting to people than their own problems.
• Don’t be afraid to ask for what you want.
• Success
  is the progressive realization of a worthy goal or ideal… It means that
  anyone who’s on course toward the fulfillment of a goal is successful.

I learned the following from Neil deGrasse Tyson’s informative MasterClass, “Scientific Thinking and Communication”.

• People are rarely persuaded when you tell them they’re wrong.
• Surround
  yourself with the best people you can find, delegate authority, and
  don’t interfere as long as the overall policy that you’ve decided upon
  is being carried out.

I received the following nuggets of wisdom from a wonderful real estate conference by Bob Zachmeier that I attended in Tucson, Arizona.

• It takes not keeping your word once to lose someone’s trust. Integrity is important.
• Cut your losses quickly, both financially and emotionally.
• Applied knowledge is power.

The most instrumental book, “Rich Dad Poor Dad,” that fueled my desire for self-improvement – the one that started it all – is by Robert Kiyosaki.

• It is what you know that is your greatest wealth. It is what you do not know that is your greatest risk.
• Whenever you feel short or in need of something, give what you want first, and it will come back in buckets.

Lastly, a piece of advice from me to you.

• If you know better, then do better.

Malvina Fahel is pursuing her interest in business, investing, and in how companies are successfully run. She has been reading books on the subject of self-improvement and networking with experts in the field. She believes that applied knowledge will ultimately be her greatest asset. Malvina hopes that sharing what she has learned will grow the desire to achieve in the SMU community.

The Daily Campus welcomes opinion contributions from students, faculty and community members. Submissions should be no more than 1000 words and are subject to copy editing. Please email submissions to [email protected], and include a cell phone number and a short biography. All pieces submitted to and published by The Daily Campus are under the publishing and editorial purview of the paper once published.