Once again, having problems with Gmail popping in and out of service. This is going to put a real damper on productivity.

Some rough versions of some MBA application essays I’ve been crafting…

3. If you were not pursuing the career goals you described in Question 1, what profession would you pursue instead? (For example, teacher, musician, athlete, architect, etc.) How will this alternate interest contribute to your effectiveness in solving multidisciplinary problems? (300-word maximum)

I love to wrestle, not the farcical Hulk Hogan, WWE garbage, but real wrestling. I have always enjoyed and had an immense passion for it. If I were confident in my ability to succeed as a world-class, Olympic-level wrestling superstar my name may have been readily recognizable. But alas, I have chosen to assuage risk by following a more “safe” career path. Without the innate conservative need I have to temper career risk, I would whole heatedly pursue a career as a competitive wrestler. Out of necessity, such passions have been transferred into other career avenues.

Like any successful venture, wrestling requires repetitive practice for flawless execution during performance. In the necessity of the moment, the successful wrestler does not make decisions, he reacts expeditiously from a repository of moves and counter-moves he’s practiced ad nauseum. It has been wisely said that 90% of human activity is based on habit and reaction, not deliberation. Hence, experience and repetition are often more indicative of the ability to solve multidisciplinary issues quickly and efficiently than almost any other form of appraisal. And, those who are impassioned about what they do, gain experience rapidly because more leisure time is spent creating effective reactionary habits to tasks. Conclusively, one could argue wrestling helps create the discipline necessary for the type of repetition which breeds perfection. Tackling multidisciplinary objectives can–after sufficient intelligence has been measured–best be gauged by the admixture of passion, fervor, and exertion.

4. Describe your experience during a challenging time in your life. Explain how you grew personally, either despite this challenge or because of it. (300-word maximum)

Almost immediately following my graduation from college, I was accepted to a couple of dental schools. I had, despite my business major, heavily prepared myself to enter the dental profession having taken 40 credits of extra science courses unrelated to my major, scored highly on the dental admissions test, and interviewed at nine schools across the country. Providentially, I decided to work for a dentist in the interim between my undergrad and and graduate work. This experience not only opened my eyes to what the dental profession meant, but helped me recognize an innate need to follow passions outside of the dental field.

I am not one to recant progressive decisions, but I knew I would not be happy or passionate as a dentist. I had more passion for previous “means-to-an-end” businesses I had started than I did for dentistry. Knowing I would never be a leader in my field unless I possessed passion for my work, I knew I had to make the difficult decision of recanting the offers of acceptance. This was an extremely difficult juncture in my life and a defining moment. During my undergrad, I had burned the midnight oil almost daily in very difficult classes, only to treat it as naught and move into the unknown.

Since making this difficult decision, I have found other niches of interest and passion. As a result, I am now more fully determined to return to school and reach my full potential as a starter and manager of successful businesses.