Start thinking

February 9, 2016 11:41 am Published by Leave your thoughts

I’m assuming most people have fallen off the new year resolution bandwagon by now and have slowly begun to realise exactly why they haven’t been achievable in previous years, but that’s beside the point.

 

Around this time last year there was an event in London hosted by three men called Richard Reed, Adam Balon and John Wright. Not many people have heard of them but I’m sure you have all seen Innocent smoothies and juices while browsing around your local supermarket so, if you’re a fan- go ahead and send them a virtual hug. Believe it or not, those small smoothie bottles collectively make up a business worth hundreds of millions of pounds however, the point is not how much they make but rather how they started. In 1999 the three men spent 6 months developing smoothie recipes before selling them at a stall during a festival. Those who bought a smoothie were then asked to vote on whether they should quit their jobs and start making smoothies, by putting their empty bottles in the ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ bins. By the End of the day, the ‘Yes’ bin was full, with only 3 bottles in the ‘No’ bin. Sticking with the majority they went to work the next day and handed in their resignation, 15 months later their product was on shelves nationwide. While I’m not saying give up your job and start making milkshakes, the point is imagine how much time they wasted in not knowing what they wanted to do in the first place. If they had known earlier, they could have been doing this for years without having to be doing something they weren’t actually that interested in.
Picture this, if bringing the Bunsen Burner out in science is your favourite part of the day then you could consider looking into what it takes to become a Lab Technician, or if you enjoy the written side of English then maybe look at what kind of grades you would need to become a Journalist. If you figure this out early, then you wouldn’t have to waste time on things that really don’t interest you because then you will know exactly how all of your subjects tie into where you want to be in a few years’ time. Even if school isn’t where you get your inspiration, look to your personality for some guidance.

Are you stubborn and argumentative? Then you sound like most Barristers. Are you the agony aunt among your friends? Then you must be a decent Therapist. There doesn’t seem to be much point in thinking about this so early on but, you would be surprised by how much easier the day can be when you know exactly why you got out of bed that morning.

Besides, it’s common knowledge that leaving things till the last minute and taking advice from Mr Procrastinate is seldom a good idea- just ask anyone who has ever had a deadline. Even if you’ve missed the plan-ahead-train, starting to think about it now could save you having to make rash decisions and then actually being stuck doing something you will forever resent.

If the three founders of Innocent smoothies hadn’t decided to start thinking about what they actually wanted to do- firstly, they would probably have ended up with a lot of wasted fruit and secondly, the world would have been deprived of a decent smoothie.

Just remember, failing to prepare is preparing to fail.

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This post was written by No.1 Tutors

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