The Fahrendorf Revelation

Since Day 1, the Fisher faculty and Career Services department have reminded us that our school work is not our only priority. They have tried to instill in us this notion that internship/job searching is equally important, if not crucial to the overall success of our MBA. I mean, they have a point: if we graduate from Fisher with leadership, business and teamwork skills, but we are unemployed, how can we be the next generation of leaders in corporate America?

Despite this rational logic, their advice has fallen on deaf ears. Grades are measurable; progress in the internship search is not. Although my main objective at Fisher is to graduate with a rewarding job, I have succumbed to the day-to-day attrition of the core curriculum. (This is a major obstacle to finding an internship.) However, I have good news. Today I had a revelation – this is my first ever revelation and will quite possibly be my last – especially if this one burns me in the end.

The Fahrendorf Revelation simply states that life will never slow down or become any easier. Professors will never slow down or give me “time off” to focus on the outside world. If I need to spend more time internship searching, I will need to prioritize my school work and focus only on the important material. I simply don’t have time to do everything. This revelation is analogous to the law of conservation of energy. For example, I can change the form of my energy to focus on school or on the internship search, but I cannot double my energy to do equal work in both categories. Energy is finite; I have to learn to make do with what I have been given. The key is to prioritize, prioritize, and prioritize.

This watershed moment in my MBA career couldn’t have come at a better time. Next Friday I am travelling up to Solon, OH to take a tour of Nestle and speak with individuals at the company about their experience in brand development. I will make sure to get the most out of this opportunity and hopefully my changed philosophy will reward me down the road.

On a different subject, I would like to recognize all the military veterans at Fisher and across the country. Yesterday was Veteran’s Day and the University was closed in their honor. Thank you to all the men and women that have served this country.

-Joe

(this was reposted from https://fisher.osu.edu/blogs/gradlife/author/fahrendorf_3/)
Joseph Fahrendorf