罗斯考虑’24 carries a card in his wallet with his goals written on it. That small piece of paper speaks to the kind of steely determination and practical wisdom he brings to everything he does.

His campus presentation on goal setting was scheduled in an early morning slot during 贝洛伊特’s inaugural 贝洛伊特 & 除了 十一月事件.

The conference-style event allows students to demonstrate what they’ve learned during internships, 工作见习, 志愿服务, 校外学习, and other activities outside the classroom. Everyone steps back from the day-to-day (classes are cancelled) to network and learn about programs designed to help students launch meaningful careers.

早上9点.m., a full audience was present to hear Ponder’s presentation about the importance of setting goals, 目标意味着什么?, 以及如何最好地实现它们.

他应该知道, though he’s the first to say that his goals have changed and evolved — and that’s exactly what goals should do.

罗斯考虑’24 presents an early morning goal-setting session at 贝洛伊特 & 除了.
来源:Todd Anderbyrne

He recounted how he started out with a very simple one: to make money. At age 11, he started buying items at the Dollar Store and selling them for $3.

全日制学生, he is also currently running a successful business called Evendtor, which connects food trucks with host venues. But the journey to where he is now was far from easy.

He briefly talked about his past, 在年轻的时候, he fell into a crowd of friends who were selling drugs and involved in a downward spiral of violence. He was part of it until one of his friends was shot.

这次创伤重塑了他的人生道路. He says he dedicated himself to God and the well-being of others, but his interests in making money and building a successful enterprise stayed strong.

罗斯考虑’24 talks with Executive-in-Residence 蒂姆·莱斯利89 at CELEB, 贝洛伊特's entrepreneurship center.
图片来源:Nicolas Doret ' 24当他说话的时候, the audience may have needed a reminder that Ponder, wearing a button-down with a tie and exuding poise, 还是个学生, 而且还是个更年轻的. He is both a student in the traditional sense at 贝洛伊特 and a student of the world who has dedicated himself to studying the paths of other successful people.

One of many examples he mentioned is 饥饿游戏 author Suzanne Collins, who set out with the goal of writing one great sentence a day.

This is what he came to share with fellow students at 贝洛伊特 and 除了: his formula for successful goal-setting.

His first point was that a goal is not an object, but what the object stands for. 他举了一个5美元的例子,000年的目标, 例如, which is meaningful only if it allows him to buy a used car for his mother, so she can get to work more quickly than walking. This buys him peace of mind and, more importantly, time to spend with her. He emphasized the importance of emotional ties to a goal like this.

He also talked about timing and resisting the lure of procrastination. His advice was that people who are setting goals should honestly question themselves about things like availability of resources, 他们要面对的障碍, and the individuals they need around them to get where they want to go. He said he came to 贝洛伊特 in part because he knew he’d be surrounded by so many smart and inspiring people.

Yet even with a goal-setting formula, Ponder said the most intimidating hurdle is the very first one: making that initial move to get a venture started.

“You have to go for it,” he told students. “So many people do not take the first step.”

Demonstrating his motivational speaking chops, he closed by adding that there is no time like the present. He encouraged students and faculty in the audience to ask themselves what they want to do in the future and start making headway on it today.

“Your goal is not the end product,” he said. “It’s about who you become as you’re achieving your goals.”