I was Failing at Fulfilling my ‘Most Likely to Succeed’ Title 
So, yeah, I was the one voted ‘most likely to succeed’ in high school. At the time, it did give me a sense of pride and made me feel slightly special. My peers had faith in me, right? Well, not really. I was super quiet in high school. Ninth grade was my first experience with public school. Not to sound like a private school snob, but I had gone to a small, Christian, private school up to that time and found public school to be quite different, to say the least. I remember people were either fighting in the hallway or making out. I was just trying to get to my locker! GEESH! Ha! I was really only given the ‘Most Likely to Succeed’ title because I was the valedictorian. Good grades must equal future success! SCORE! I was soon to discover, that just wasn’t reality.
Most Likely to Succeed Curse??
In a recent poll, nearly one-third of high school seniors named ‘most likely to succeed‘ regard it later as ‘a curse’. I actually laughed when I read this. I had a similar experience. After I graduated college summa cum laude with a Bachelor’s of Science in International Business, in 3 years due to high school credits, I took a job……… waiting tables. That’s right! For the past 12 years, I was a waitress. What I wasn’t fully aware of at the time was that society didn’t look at serving as an “admirable” or “noble” career choice for someone voted most likely to succeed. That just simply was not success and would never equal success. Never mind that I could go on vacation whenever I wanted, had control over my income, was making close to double the income of any entry level position that required a college degree. Never mind that. I was a waitress. You might as well have stuck a pencil behind my ear and given me some chewing gum to smack on!
While I knew I was doing something I enjoyed, I was well aware that society considered it unsuccessful. So, hence the “curse” of the “most likely to succeed” began. My dad, well, while he might have attempted to act proud of me, I knew he wasn’t chomping at the bit to brag to his buddies about me. Oh…your uber smart daughter is working WHERE? DOING WHAT? I got used to it. But, I never got used to seeing old high school classmates walk into the restaurant I was working out. And why? BECAUSE I WAS MOST LIKELY TO SUCCEED! I was supposed to be the CEO of a Fortune 500 company by now or a goodwill ambassador to a third world country or have invented Facebook or SOMETHING! Instead I was asking if they wanted sweet or unsweet tea?? HOW COULD THIS BE!?!? This was the only time I became super self-conscious. I would hide, trade tables with co workers and avoid my old classmates at all costs! This title was still haunting me ten years later!
Success is Relative
I used to have moments where I thought I was a failure. As I hid from my high school classmates behind walls of wine wearing my apron and smelling of food, I used to let me mind wander. How did I end up there? Wasn’t my life meant for more? There HAD to be more!!! I didn’t measure my sense of success simply by my job title, but by the way I felt in my soul and I just knew I had a greater purpose, I just had to find it. My question to you today is what is your purpose? What do you believe you are capable of doing? I find that successful people do successful things because they KNOW their potential! They have a SOLID belief system and they match their actions to their belief and the potential they believe they have! Then, their results follow!
There is NOTHING wrong with waiting tables! But, I was failing because, at that time, I had lost sight of my potential. I was distracted and struggling in life in general. My marriage was on the rocks. I was depressed and overwhelmed and lost. The moment I started focusing on finding myself and being the best version of me again, things changed. What do you 
believe about yourself today? Focus on improving you and I guarantee, success will come! I love this photo. THINK ABOUT IT! These 4 things are interchangeable. Your results will line up with your belief. Your actions line up with your belief. If you are thinking….”Well, I’ll give success a try and just see what happens.” Odds are, whatever it takes for you to succeed, isn’t much of a priority in your life. And odds are, your results won’t be too great either. Personal development is VITAL to your success for THAT very reason! I can believe in you! I can see your potential. I can vote you MOST LIKELY TO SUCCEED, but YOU have to BELIEVE and SEE and ACT to get the RESULTS!
What if you GOT what you BELIEVED in life? What amount of money would you bring home? How many people would you change? Be honest with yourself. Think about it……………….
Digging Deeper, Jessica Bowser Nelson
P.S. You are capable of great things!! Whether you were voted most likely to succeed or class clown, don’t let your past dictate your future potential!