The Best Mistake That I Ever Made Was ----
The best mistake that I ever made occurred during my elementary school years, when I heard one of my fellow students give a marvelous guitar performance during a concert. I was deeply touched by the beauty of the melody and I became determined to learn to play the guitar just as well as he did. I expressed these thoughts to my parents and asked them to buy me a guitar, which was really out of reach of our family’s modest income. But I persisted, and after saving and sacrificing for several months, my parents gave me the greatest birthday gift that I had ever received – a guitar.
When I first began to practice, I could not get my fingers to do the work required to make such a beautiful melody. When I placed my fingers on the strings and strummed the guitar, I felt sharp pain and decided that guitar playing was not for me. Soon, the various distractions of high school life and the demands of my studies drew my attention away from my long-desired guitar. It was left in the corner of my room to gather dust.
One day, lacking anything better to do, I took out my guitar again and played the few chords that I had earlier learned. As I strummed the first few chords, I suddenly realized that no matter how great your desires and dreams are, if they are set aside they become no more than just that – dreams and desires that will never be realized. The only way to make them become reality is to put your heart and soul into making those dreams and desires come true without giving up, no matter what difficulties stand in your way.
Due to my laziness and procrastination, the guitar will always belong to my childhood memories – a symbol of what could have been had I persevered and never quit. Although my dreams were never fulfilled and I let my parents down in the process, I did learn something from this experience. Dreams and goals are not things that are given to you. You must earn them. When I look at the guitar I understand that I must forge ahead to start the journey towards my goals to make my dreams become reality. I have encountered countless difficulties and hardships in my work. But every time that I feel that I have exhausted all of my strength and I am ready to give up, I think of the sacrifices that my parents made to get me that guitar and how my failure to master it led to their great disappointment. Thoughts of my parents and that guitar give me the courage and the strength to persevere through the hardships and difficulties to reach my goal.
As an example, the city of Beijing was planning a grand ceremony to welcome the dawn of the century at the end of the year 2000. Our company took over the planning of the ceremony in early December 2000 and the city council gave us the final plans with just 15 days left before the big day. The Beijing council required us to work with a German company for the lighting for the show and a Japanese company for the fireworks. Due to cultural differences, we could not reach an agreement with the German company on the lighting effects for the show. Time was running out and all that we could do was give up. But late every night, when our negotiations had failed numerous times, I would think about my guitar, which made me determined to never admit defeat. The success or failure of this project would not only determine whether our company could succeed in this new field, but whether our entire staff had the willpower to succeed. Finally, through perseverance, seemingly endless negotiations and a strong team spirit, we came to an agreement on a very detailed timetable and successfully completed the project at the last minute. The success of the project was a direct result of the folly of my youth. The mistake that I made in giving up the guitar continues to affect both my personal and professional life, driving me to keep trying no matter how difficult the task may be.
MBA Essay Writing CASE SIX
Is your academic performance to date an accurate predictor of your potential for success at London Business School. If so, why? If not, why not? (150 words)
I am confident my academic performance will ensure my success at LBS. Having earned my Bachelor of Engineering degree, I went on to embark on a Master’s Program at Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT) in 1991, the most prestigious technology institute in China. At HIT, I distinguished myself by an excellent academic record (ranking top 3 among 40 graduate students). My acceptance to HIT-TIT(Tokyo Institute of Technology) Automation Control Research Group testifies to my full academic and research potential. The qualities I have developed in my academic experience will help me achieve a successful transition to the world of business administration. Most importantly, I have five years and eight years of professional experience in China and in Japan respectively. For me, success at LBS is not only about passing exams, for me, success also means forging new friendship, learning from other cultures and experimenting with new fields.