POTUS 10 and Dissertations

March 29th marks the birthday of the 10th President of the United States. Here’re some words of wisdom from John Tyler that you can apply to your dissertation…

I can never consent to being dictated to as to what I shall or shall not do… So long as you see fit to do this, I shall be glad to have you with me. When you think otherwise, your resignations will be accepted.

— John Tyler

Here Tyler is pretty much telling his cabinet that he’s the boss and he’s going to do whatever he wants. You’ve probably thought about saying something like this to your dissertation committee at times!

I can’t stress this enough: Don’t do this.

This attitude didn’t work out all that well for Tyler since his cabinet mostly resigned, and he was unable to get much of his legislation backed in Congress. Likely, it would turn out even worse for you, since you’re just a doctoral student, not the President.

Resist the urge to challenge your committee. Tamp down that ego. And, work with your committee to actually produce something that they find acceptable, so that you can get that degree!

Wealth can only be accumulated by the earnings of industry and the savings of frugality.
— John Tyler

Wealth isn’t the only thing that can be accumulated in this way. In fact, this is exactly how you’ll acquire your doctoral degree.

If you’re efficient, you’ll end up spending at least 300-500 hours in the “dissertation industry.” Sound like a lot?

Well, just like saving money for retirement, you’ll get your dissertation done by being frugal with your “spare” time. You won’t be doing this in one fell swoop.

Let’s do the math. If you commit 10-15 hours a week you can definitely get this done in less than 2 years with plenty of time for setbacks and weeks off.

In fact, the students we support here at Dissertation Done generally finish in just 12 to 18 months. You can do this!

It was hard … and a good result in the end.
— John Tyler

If there’s one thing that the Presidency and dissertations have in common, it’s that nobody ever either of these things was easy. Think about it. If earning a doctoral degree were easy, everyone would have one and they wouldn’t be worth having. Sure, it may be a hard slog, but as long as you get it done in the end, it’ll be more than worth it!

Need help figuring out how to be put your nose to the grindstone? Click here to schedule a quick, 15-minute chat with me to see if you’re a good fit for our Fast Track Your Dissertation Coaching Program. If you are, then I’ll invite you to join the fastest group of dissertation students out there and help you to reach graduation a good year or two faster than you would on your own.