The Hardest Part is Choosing to Start

So, now that you have found yourself on this website and/or reading this blog you must be considering going back to school for an MBA. This post is not one about what to do or how to prepare; rather, this post looks at the bigger picture. This post should go straight to your psyche and challenge the main question that you keep revisiting over and over in your head: “how am I ever going to be able to get this done?” “Can I really do this?” “Do I have enough time to devote to this?” These are all good questions and you are in good company with the previous students who have also tackled these same questions. Through working with hundreds of part time MBA students – as well as being a current part time student myself – I try and ease their concerns with the phrase that I believe get people passed the hurdle of fear. This phrase has helped me personally as well as with how to juggle family, work, and school (hopefully in that order) and find that ever elusive work/life balance. Ready? Here it is:

The Hardest Part is Choosing Start

Not very life shattering or profound, but it gets to the heart of the matter to allow others to get on with the next phase of life. Prospective students spend 6 – 18 months planning to enroll in a part time MBA program. From researching the right programs to paying the confirmation fee, there are many steps to complete the application process and get ready to begin graduate school. But once all the steps are complete and the “hay is in the barn” it is up to you to take that next step and begin. Yes, there are things that you see as important that will need to take a back seat. That softball league, those nights out with the girls, as well as binge watching House Hunters International, all could slip out of your life for about 3 years in favor of watching online classes, reading case studies and prepping for exams. However, I promise the investment of time in graduate management education will pay you back more than that Netflix app. Once you begin the coursework it simply becomes an extension of who you are. When you forgo other trivial items or unnecessary hobbies and replace it with school, you can achieve the goals you have set for yourself. Yes, you can do this! Yes, you can balance all the things that are important in your life and make this investment to create a future for you and your family. Let’s go!

The Hardest Part is Choosing to Start!