English Corpus

How well are you preparing yourself for your voyage into major
exams? Are you using your time, money, and resources in the best
possible way to get great exam results? Or are you rushing
through, hoping that on test day you’ll somehow manage?

There was a very interesting program on the Discovery Channel
the other day about the Mongolian attempt to invade Japan in 1274.
Do you know the story? According to the program, the Mongols had
the best fleet of seafaring vessels in the world using cutting
edge 13th century technology. Their ships could survive a hull
breach because the ship was divided into waterproof sections,
which means that only a small portion of the ship would take on
water.

They also had the world’s most powerful bow, with a range of
over 300 meters (that’s three football fields laid end to end!),
and there was also evidence to show that the Mongols had a long
range explosive weapon — basically a bomb — as well.

So why were they defeated? You probably know the traditional
answer, that a ‘Divine Wind’ saved the Japanese. When it destroys
your home or your city, it is a typhoon or a hurricane, but when
it repels your invaders, it is a ‘Divine Wind.’
At this point you’re probably wondering what this has to do with
your exam results, so hang in there, I’m about to tell you.

This attempted invasion of 1274 was actually lost long before
the ‘Divine Wind’ (typhoon). It was lost when Kublai Khan, the
leader of the Mongolian army, so powerful that they had a myth
of invincibility surrounding them, made a decision to take a
short cut. The evidence at the bottom of the ocean shows that he
decided to use river boats rather sea worthy vessels. The ocean
vessels were great ships with a keel to keep the ship balanced
and enable it to weather a strong typhoon and stay afloat. River
boats have a flat bottom and no way to balance during an ocean
storm, so they are easily capsized.

With one decision, the decision to not prepare properly, Kublai
Khan sowed the seeds for the failure of the invasion, and also
destroyed the myth of invincibility of the Mongolian Empire thus
leading to its ultimate destruction.

It’s these little decisions you make, how well you decide to
prepare, that will ultimately determine how well you can weather
the storm — and get the great exams results that you know you
want and deserve.

How much better could you be preparing than
what you are doing right now? How much more wisely could you be
using your time? How great will it be going into your exam
knowing that you have truly done everything in your power to be
successful on your exams, and get those great exam results?

Here’s to Your Success!
Teresa Bolen

Copyright 2006 by Teresa Bolen. All rights reserved.

Teresa Bolen is a teacher at Todaiji Academy, one of the top 5
schools in Japan, and the author of Master Plan to Master Exams:
How to Discover Your Hidden Abilities to Create the Success You
Desire. You can get her ‘Academic Excellence Report’ at
http://www.MasterPlanToMasterExams.com.

‘Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life
you have imagined.’
— Henry David Thoreau –