The Young and Exceptional™: Ulysses W. Burley III

“See, there are a lot of smart people, brother. It’s hard work that’s going to get you over the hump.” —Ulysses W. Burley III

As I was going through the hundreds of email from students in my inbox I noticed one from Ulysses W. Burley III. His bio and curriculum vitae were so nice I had to read them twice! His incredible passion and work ethic were clearly evident as I read his amazing and truly inspiring story.

Ulysses is a medical doctoral candidate at Northwestern and Rush Universities of Chicago. He attended Morehouse College as a Packard Science Scholar (a full scholarship) and is the recipient of numerous awards and honors. He has at least a dozen medical terms on his C.V. that I have no idea how to pronounce. Ha!

Ulysses has accrued over seven years of cancer research experience, contributing to a compliment of research projects with two major first author publications as well as two co-authorships and guess what? He’s only 24 years old.

‘Nuff said. Let’s find out what else is inside the mind of Ulysses W. Burley III.

Never Go Shopping When You’re Hungry

One of the things college students spend the most money on is food. So here’s a quick and simple tip that will help keep the food you eat from eating your cash.

• NEVER go shopping when you’re hungry! Also, make a shopping list and stick to it.

[VIDEO] Duncan Nugget #1: Write and Succeed

Have you ever heard the story about the guy who was trying to build a skyscraper, but he didn’t have any plans or blueprints? I can tell you right now that you have never heard that story.

Why?

Because is it doesn’t exist!

Nobody would try to build a building like that without planning it out in writing…first. Even if someone could build it without using blueprints, it would still be much simpler if things were planned out on paper. It works the same way for you and building your life.

You tend to accomplish a lot more when you put your goals, ideas, plans, and the necessary action steps in writing. Write and succeed.

Whether digitally or by hand, write down you goals, ideas, and plans.

Million-Dollar Question: 
How soon are you going to put your goals, ideas, plans,
and the necessary action steps in writing?

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DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. Do you really believe you have a greater chance of success when you write things down? Why or why not?

2. Write down one of your main goals. What is the next action step you can take on that goal? How soon are you going to do the action step? (HINT: “Today” would be an awesome answer.)

3. What are some of the excuses people use for not writing down their goals, ideas, and action plans? How do YOU avoid those kinds of excuses?

4. What tool(s) do you like to use for keeping track of your actions steps? (To-do list, calendar, phone, journal, etc.) What makes it/them effective for you?

5. If you had to teach a class on the importance of writing down your goals, ideas, and plans, what would your main point be? What makes your point so important?

Additional Reading: 3 Keys To Help Young People Track Progress On Goals

No Annual Fee?

When looking for a credit card be sure to look for one with no annual fee.

Related Articles:4 Keys for Smart Credit Card Use

Youth Leadership Summit at CLC a huge hit!

College of Lake County
Youth Leadership Summit at CLC a huge hit!(pdf)

Al Duncan Testimonial – 1st Generation Youth Leadership Summit

I just wanted to take the time to say ‘THANK YOU’ for coming to Grayslake, Illinois and being the keynote speaker for the 1st Generation Youth Leadership Summit at the College of Lake County. You definitely exceeded our expectations with your powerful, insightful and motivational story. The youth who were in attendance really enjoyed your speech. You are truly a hidden gem, but there comes a time when ALL gems have to shine! There are many people who claim to be motivational speakers but only few can hold the title and claim full ownership. Mr. Duncan, your participation was truly a connection that was meant to happen. We are all still flying high on your plane of inspirational guidance. Please continue to pour into this generation as I am sure you will definitely make a great impact around the globe. I wish you the best and I hope that we will be able to connect in the near future as we continue to provide services for our target audience, which is low-income, first generation pre-college students. Blessings to you!

Michelle Vaughn, Associate Dean
College of Lake County

Q & A: Public Speaking Tips Pt. 2

continued from part 1

Be Brief

Recently, I was the keynote speaker at a welcome back dinner for the African-American Cultural Center at the University of Connecticut.

I was supposed to deliver a 90 minute talk, but the students were so engaged and had me so fired up that before we realized it, an hour and 45 minutes had gone by!

You might be thinking, “Al, an hour and 45 minutes is not brief. That’s a long time.”

Actually, it depends on the context. That’s the interesting thing about time; two hours can seem like ten minutes or ten minutes can seem like two hours.

Have you ever been stuck listening to a lack-luster speaker? Have you ever been trapped in a mind-numbing lecture or boring conversation? Ten minutes of this torture is excruciatingly painful, right? The point is: