C: Confidence

Most of us aren't confident enough. Each of us has a different reason for that. One that is common to a lot of us is the fact that we just don't want to be wrong. We have to learn hold a space for ourselves to try to remember: "What if you're right?"

H: Humility

"What if you're right?" isn't an excuse to rush or make assumptions. Confidence has to be balanced by Humility. If you finish tests early, you've probably wondered: Why do confident people still double-check over their work? It's because that's exactly what confidence looks like: Humility. (And you know it, too--because, who's grade was higher?)

A: Alacrity

This is an old word that means a combination of "fast" and "present"--for example, people with 'Type A personalities' do everything with Alacrity, but so do people with ADHD. They are decisive, and are able to let go quickly. Students who struggle with time limits for whatever reason--from blanking out and having to re-read often, or from overanalyzing--can learn Alacrity, but will need a balance of Confidence and Humility first.

M: Mindfulness

Mindfulness is what you call it when you decide to stop being distracted by your thoughts. Whenever you make a conscious choice to pay attention to something other than your own mind, you're doing Mindfulness. You do it all the time, just like breathing; starting now, you can choose to do it with purpose. If you've ever been guided to a state of mindfulness once before, you will be able to access it whenever you want. You just need to remember it's there.

P: Patience

Students who are already familiar with Mindfulness, but lack a foundational sense of self-worth (C, H, and A) to support it, will most likely struggle with motivation because, from their point of view, why bother? The outcome is more or less preordained anyway, give-or-take a few points. When these students are confronted with clear evidence of their own intelligence, skill, and potential, they can apply Mindfulness techniques to escape the urge to hold on to familiar fears, and start to change their minds. 

The key is being Patient with ourselves.

Q: How Does This Help Me?

A: Balancing these 5 elements is what helped me score a 36, and is what has helped my students achieve and surpass their goals for the past 7 years, raising their scores by an average of 300-400 on the SATs and 5-7 points on the ACT. 

I am very grateful to all the families who've entrusted me with their kids over the years, ever since I first started tutoring for the McGould, Apple, Hanson, Mann and Foster families back in 2017. Because of your successes, I've been fortunate to enjoy a level of freedom and success that enables me to live in cities like Berlin, Paris, and Geneva, while continuing to foster the success of all my students.

I'm able to do this for a living because I made it into college debt-free, and that's all I want for each and every one of my students.