Tony Miltenberger

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15 Years Later and I Finally Have My College Degree

You may have noticed that my writing has been sporadic at best.  I’ve been on a blogging hiatus that can only be described as content creation overload. The past month I’ve been working on a project that has taken me 15 years; my college degree.

After high school I wasn’t committed to the requirements that college would put on my life. Honestly, I just didn’t want do the work; I didn’t know what I wanted to be when I grew up. That was okay for me; between the Army Reserves and young love my life was pretty full. I was content, and while a lot of smart of people were telling me to get my college degree I just wasn’t there.

For the next 15 years I muddled my through the college experience (earning an Associates and now a Bachelors).  Three kids, two year long deployments, and various career changes I have finally completed this leg of the journey.

As I reflect on the whole process I can only think of one thing- motivation. I had people who helped keep me in the game, but ultimately my success or failure was dependent on my attitude. No matter how many people encouraged, jeered, or maybe both I wasn’t going to finish this thing till I was ready.

The older I get the more I realize that the key to success is a lot less about the timing/ability, but tremendously more about the priority I make the topic. When I expressed that this was my motivation, Karen got on board, and everything else in my life had to become second fiddle to this one thing.

Sometimes we can get so caught up in everything that we end up accomplishing nothing.


What is your one priority?

What is distracting you from that priority?

Does it align with your values and faith?

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