An article I recently read noted that the wealthiest places on earth are neither the oil fields of the Middle East nor the diamond mines of South Africa. Rather, the wealthiest places are the cemeteries. “Buried in the ground are businesses that were never formed, songs that were never sung, books that were never written, potential that was never realized, and dreams that never came to pass.”

I confess. At times, I procrastinate. I credit my college experience for the continuation of this sometimes stressful habit. College was awesome for me – an extrovert who loved to socialize. There were so many wonderful “distractions” to keep me occupied.

American novelist Ray Bradbury once said, “There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them.” According to the American Booksellers Association, 58% of Americans will never read another book after they graduate from high school. Shocking? It was to me. For someone who grew up with a love of books and reading, I found this statistic to be most startling.

O.K… I admit that telling someone to “wing it” – you know, carry out some type of task, program or event with little to no planning – may not sound like great advice. But sometimes, especially in the world of higher education, a little “winging it” every now and then could do us a lot of good.