The secret to success

Don't eat the marshmallow

Very interesting talk and experiment. What do you think you would have done?

I think I would have either not eaten the marshmallow, or more likely eaten the centre like that kid, I could also see nibbling off the edges and making it look the same but smaller. I was pretty sneaky. And if you'd looked at my life at 18 you would have definitely agreed that I was successful, though I was very good at working the system, not at understanding the recipe for success. I did have good grades and everything lined up right and I do feel like I have lost my way a bit since then though. I was equipped to be successful in school, but I am much less successful in the work-force, and I didn't really take away from school the continuous hard work=success lesson that you are supposed to get from doing your homework (which I never did). I'm very good at short bursts of productivity for a short term goal, like cramming for an exam (or delaying gratification for a bonus marshmallow). But I'm really shit at the day to day drudgery of actually holding down a job. And I'm not exactly golden at saving for a down payment either. I mean, yeah, we had an actual down payment when we moved here, but if I'd said no to a few more little luxuries over the years in Edmonton I'm sure it would have been larger.

I think I might get his book out from the library and try to convince myself to work a little harder for what I want.