To Achieve Success: A Modest Proposal

For Preventing the Constituents of a Community

From Keeping the Nation from Reaching Her Full Potential and
For Making Them Valuable and Contributing Members of Society

By Vicky Lin (2011)

“Practice makes perfect,” says the old adage. Why is it that in nearly every glance that
one makes, the imperfections of our society are conspicuously evident? By means of a simple
path of logic, I have come to the conclusion that the lack of practice and hard work is a disease
that has been chronically plaguing our nation, and has been keeping her from achieving her full
potential of success.

I have perceived that the great majority of people in our nation do not diligently endeavor
for perfection or for success. The rare minority of people who do achieve success must bear the
burden of these numerous anchors, weighing down the potential of their whole society. Hence, I
feel it is reasonable to assert that the critical shortage of hard work is restraining our society and
is keeping it from reaching its full potential. The one who is able to set free America from its
constraints would certainly deserve a great honor as the liberator and hero of our nation.

However, my goals are by no means confined to fruition only within our own nation. The
successful implementation of a system promoting diligence in America may spread my ideas,
along with their favorable outcomes, around the whole world.

Using many years of careful observation and experience, I have knowledgeably devised a
plan that could bring about the betterment of communities around the whole globe. Though it is
true that several factors may contribute to the issue at hand—which is the inadequate degree of
success in society—I target the core and the heart of the problem. My plan will be able to prevent
idleness and will make full use of the potential of individuals. If people are able to use the skills
that they are naturally endowed with efficiently and effectively, their diligence will invariably
lead to favorable results. This is the reason that I propose that our communities make good use of
the potential and talents of individuals for the purpose of success and for the good of society.

There are many benefits associated with the implementation of my plan. Firstly, I hold it
to be true that time is unquestionably precious. By helping to maximize its use, my plan, in
addition to providing for the betterment of society, is also beneficial to individuals by making
good use of a priceless commodity. Secondly, additional time to think is an effective catalyst for
creative ideas. With creativity, the possibilities of how great society can become and how to
achieve that greatness are endless. Thirdly, when a large number of individuals in society are
able to achieve success, the morale of society and the respect given to society both grow
exponentially, which is a favorable result. My list of these beneficial results is by no means
exhaustive.
 It is with all of this knowledge that I would like to humbly propose my plan, which I feel
is so effective and far-sighted that even our Founding Fathers would have tipped their hats in
acknowledgement.

First and foremost, I would like to bring attention to an activity that all people engage in,
which consumes hours of their day and provides little tangible result. The unproductive action
that I refer to is the indulgence in sleep.

I would like to sincerely propose that laws be made to limit the amount of sleep allowed
to people to a total of three hours each day.

The regulation of these laws can be accomplished by having individuals periodically

verify their consciousness when they are awake and by having them document the times during
which they are asleep. These actions are to be done on a website run by the federal government
created for the very purpose of regulating the hours that its citizens spend sleeping. The parents
of young children must document their child’s or their childrens’ sleeping schedule(s) on the
website in their place. In situations in which people are sick, injured, or otherwise in need of time
for recuperation, they may attain a certified doctor’s verification notice and submit it to the
website to appeal for additional time to rest. If individuals should fail to accord to the limit of
three hours of sleep, they will be subjected to warnings and fines. The value of the fine is to be
doubled for each additional repeated offense, in order to encourage citizens to adhere to the law.

There may be concerns that three hours of sleep is not enough for individuals to remain
healthy and productive; however the results of recent medical research are clearly enough to
allay those worries. Scientists have discovered through clinical trials that during sleep, humans
undergo a cycle of four steps: the transition into sleep, light sleep, deep sleep, and finally dream
sleep. The sleep cycle is repeated every 90 minutes, and researchers have found that when the
cycle is allowed to reach completion, individuals are able to function with the greatest degree of
energy and concentration. Thus my proposition of three hours, or 180 minutes, of sleep, allowing
for the completion of two whole sleep cycles, is adequate to provide for the health of individuals,
and at the same instance is invaluable in saving precious time that can be used to endeavor for
success.

Some claim that sleeping for at least eight hours is a better method to provide for
productivity and, eventually, success. Their claim is obviously illogical. If people spend less time
sleeping, they shall be able to spend more time working. While sleeping for eight hours provides
for only 16 hours of time possible to be spent working, sleeping for three hours provides for 21
hours of time. I feel that the reduction in the amount of sleep that one receives is a very meager
sacrifice for a greater cause. Spending more time on working hard will allow one to achieve
success, therefore allowing individuals to sleep for, at most, three hours a day will provide the
maximum benefit to their goals of success and to society.

A few wishful speculators believe that the growth of an individual’s passion alone will be
enough to drive them to work hard and achieve success. However, without reducing the time
spent in idle sleep, how can individuals make maximum use of their time to achieve their goals?
And to follow, it is clear that passion is not a very stable emotion—in just an instant, an
individual’s passion for ancient world history may become a passion for multi-variable calculus.
The very instability of passion subjugates its motivational effect. Thus, I hold it that passion
alone is not a solution to the lack of diligence in society.

Others have suggested that mere encouragement and guidance are enough to motivate
individuals to work hard. This suggestion is clearly flawed as, when given a choice, people tend
to lean towards an easier path, which definitely does not involve hard work. The only way to
guarantee that individuals will be able to make fuller use of their abilities is to reduce the time
that they spend idly sleeping. They will then naturally gravitate towards the beneficial use of
their newly gained time, and will be able to achieve success.

I sincerely assert that I am not influenced or guided by any interests as I present my plan,
save for my interest in the success of our society. I clearly do not personally benefit from the
implementation of my plan, as I do not receive any material compensation in any way, shape, or
form. I only hope for the wellbeing of our nation and of our world, and I dream that we will soon
be able to see the bright fireworks of success. The potentials are boundless—former amateur
violinists can become renowned virtuosos, medical students can become doctors able to cure all
diseases known to man, and engineers can become innovators who create technologies that can
completely change the world as we know it for the better.

The End