Do Less.
These students revel in an open schedule and the ability to dedicate more than enough time to a reasonable course load and a small number of activities. They recognize the deep satisfaction in an unhurried afternoon spent grappling with an AP Literature assignment under a shade tree.
Do Better.
Along with the time affluence granted by doing less comes an obligation to do the small number things they do much better. These students recognize that they’ll ultimately be judged not by the sum of their contributions to diverse activities, but instead by the magnitude of their ability in the one thing they do best. For them, however, it’s about more than the aura of stardom that shines from someone with true ability, there’s another deep satisfaction to be found in the craftsmanship of slowly building skill, a thin layer at a time.
Know Why.
These students practice the above rules not as a means but as an end: A life with both freedom and focus is a life well-lived. In the short term, this approach will help you get into a good college and then excel once there, but its effectiveness lasts well beyond. Consider, for a moment, someone whose life you admire as being capital-G Good — perhaps, for example, a respected writer or profound thinker — you’ll likely note that they, like these students, dedicate their time to a small number of pursuits (perhaps just one), but do those small number of things exceptionally well.