IntroductionJohn Wooden once said, "If you don't have time to do it right, when will you have time to start over again?" (Wooden). With these words of wisdom, I want to complete my university studies successfully on the first try. In order to achieve this victory, I must motivate myself by setting goals and positive self-talk, I must develop relationships and self-manage. Goals of a Successful Student Aspirations help you look beyond the present moment and imagine yourself in the future. They help you not only have a dream, but also visualize it. Without setting goals, we decide to look at the ground rather than the beauty of the world. Dreams give you hope for a future. It is important to set short-term achievements that encourage you to achieve your long-term goals (Downing 2014). As a student with long-term aspirations to be accepted into the occupational therapy program at Texas Woman's University, I must have high expectations of myself, or I won't make it. I am aiming for a cumulative GPA of 3.8 throughout my undergraduate program and at least 3.5 in the occupational therapy graduate program. I need to get mostly A's to achieve this goal and spend a lot of time studying. Although GPA plays a major role in getting to the next step and is a traditional predictor of college success, it is not a predictor of college degree completion (Sparkman, Maulding, and Roberts 2012). This means that locking myself in a room with a book all day won't get me through college, I need to generate friendships that will also inspire me. The university is a place that fosters both interdependence and independence. Hazard (2013) is not only talking about the fact that it is not only important to...... middle of paper...... (7th ed.) Lyn Uhl.Hazard, L. (2013) . Cultivate the habits of mind necessary for student success and success. Developmental Education Research and Teaching, 29(2), 45-48. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.twu.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=87740102&site=ehost-live&scope=siteKuh, G. (2005 ). Student success in college: Creating conditions that matter. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Sparkman, LA, Maulding, WS, & Roberts, JG (2012). Noncognitive predictors of student success in college. Journal of University Students, 46(3), 642-652. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.twu.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ996963&site=ehost-live&scope=site; http://www.projectinnovation.biz/csj_2006.htmlWooden, J. The Pyramid of Success. Accessed 02/20/2014 from http://www.coachwooden.com/index2.html