Be nice. Nobody likes an asshole so don’t be one if you want to be liked by others. Be patient. Don’t rush into things unwittingly and unprepared. That being said, don’t be overly cautious or you won’t ever experience failure in your life, which would be the ultimate failure.

Be useful. Strive to be competent. Envision what sort of person you want to be then work each day to be that person. Change if you must. If you are unhappy, find the true source of that unhappiness and change it. Focus on the center and let everything else fall in place around that center. Accept that some things will fall away. Recognize the greatness in others. Listen to yourself. Trust yourself. Be someone that others can trust in.

Whatever life you are envisioning for yourself will go in directions, both good and bad, that you never foresaw nor anticipated. In the end, your success or failure as a human being will not be measured by the grades you received, what college your degree is from, how much money you earn or whether or not your life is traveling the precise trajectory you had planned. That’s not to say that all sorts of people won’t judge you by such mis-measured yardsticks. They will, again and again, and yet again. What’s important is that you do not fall into that worldly trap for if you do, it paralyzes you from growing and becoming the very best human being you can be.

Seek perfection, but seek it in the right places. Perfect grades are not perfection. That’s not to say that your grades and academic degrees don’t matter; rather, it’s to put them in perspective. They are landmarks on a path, but not the path themselves. You have been blessed with many talents and opportunities. Seize them, make the most of them, and don’t fret the small stuff.