Stephen Covey, in his book First Things First, asks, “What is the one activity that you know if you did superbly well and consistently would have significant positive results in your … life?”
Have you ever considered posing this question to your students?
What one activity in your student’s lives, if they did it consistently and well, would have the biggest impact for their future? For while they are in college? What one thing could they do that would make the biggest difference?
Could it be quitting one activity and focusing on another?
Could it be reading extra material on marketing or business (or whatever major they are in) or practice writing every day?
Could it be joining other groups or organizations and building a lifetime network?
Could it be learning to type, learning how to learn better, learning how to speed read, or learning certain software on the computer?
Is there an activity (such as writing) that they could do every day, that, by the time they graduate, they would have an incredible portfolio or knowledge in that area?
I challenge you to ask that question to your students. What one activity, if they did it consistently and superbly, would create major results while at college, and even afterward?
Challenge them to think about it and come up with an answer. And then watch. For those who listen and follow through, you just might see them ignite.