The Scout Motto, BE PREPARED, means you are always in a state of readiness in mind and body to do your DUTY. As you all begin the new school year, I remind you that your DUTY is to BE Prepared for it.

Scouting’s founder, Robert Baden Powell urged all Scouts to:

• Be Prepared in Mind
• Be Prepared in body

You’ve heard me speak many times about prior planning. Being prepared is the critical first step for any outdoor outing, true. But prior planning is also a critical first step to getting good grades and being successful in school.

Take good notes. Study for your classes. Be sure to record due dates of homework and long-term assignments. Don’t put off those long-term assignments, like research papers and written essays. Those days or weeks between when they are assigned and when they are due may seem like a long way off, but days and weeks have a habit of moving really fast when you are procrastinating. Before you know it, it’s crunch time and you’re throwing together a mediocre effort that’s doomed to receive a poor grade, because you wasted time and put off the assignment. Don’t make the mistake of procrastination. Plan, prepare, and execute. Don’t make the mistake of putting things off until the last minute, then being disappointed when the result of your poor effort is a poor grade.

Some of the best learning experiences we receive come as a result of our own mistakes, failures, or omissions—not being prepared. Avoid these failures in the first place. Be Prepared!