The Hardest Things Are Often the Most Rewarding

Isn’t this true with so many things in life? Oftentimes the most rewarding things are the hardest ones. Thank you to the Harvard Extension School and Harvard University for the opportunity to share this with their incoming students.

When I started my master’s in International Relations at Harvard Extension School, I was in my early 40s, running a business, and about to become a lot more familiar with my own limits. I remember sitting in my first seminar wondering if I belonged in the room. Turns out that feeling never fully goes away, and that’s alright. It just means you’re doing something worth doing.

The hardest classes taught me the most. The hardest marathons (yes, even the one in North Korea) are the ones I still think about. The hardest conversations, the ones I wanted to avoid, ended up building the strongest relationships. If there’s one thing I’d tell an incoming student, it’s this: don’t wait to feel ready. Show up anyway. Ganbatte, as they say in Japan. Keep pushing forward.