If I could recommend just one book, it would be "The Slight Edge" by Jeff Olson. This book's principles apply to every aspect of life—health, education, exams, self-growth, and more. The concepts are simple yet profoundly effective. If you feel stuck or hopeless in your self-improvement journey, start reading this book. You'll find yourself taking action even before you finish it. "The Slight Edge" offers a deep understanding of self-improvement and prepares you for a long-term commitment to growth. Here are a few lines from the book that resonate deeply with me every time I read them: - "The difference between success and failure is not dramatic. In fact, the difference between success and failure is so subtle, so mundane, that most people miss it." - "Those little things that will make you successful in life, that will secure your health, your happiness, your fulfillment, your dreams, are simple, subtle, mundane things that nobody will see, nobody will applaud, nobody will even notice. They are those things that, at the time you do them, often feel like they make absolutely no difference. Things that are ridiculously easy to do—but just as easy not to do. Things that don’t seem to bring you any visible results at first. Things that seem so insignificant, they could not possibly matter. But they do. Things that, when you look at them as single occurrences, don’t seem like they would have any impact at all—yet when compounded over time they add up to outrageous success." - "'Some Day' does not exist, never has, and never will. There is no 'someday.' There is only today. When tomorrow comes, it will be another today; so will the next day. They all will. There is never anything but today." - "No success is immediate or instantaneous; no collapse is sudden or precipitous." - "Success does not lead to happiness—it’s the other way around." - "In life, there is no such thing as staying in the same place. If you are not increasing, you are decreasing."

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So, I've went to a ton of Olympiads, science fairs, congresses, fests etc etc and I mainly work with Robotics which means, no matter how hard I work for it, there is always a chance for last minute betrayals. But interestingly a lot of my winning projects fall into that category. Almost all of them actually. So, I sat down and noticed a pattern, whenever my project worked it's best, I presented it with an average speech, taking about a minute or so explaining each feature. However whenever a part of my robot wasn't working, I took out some extra time to explain exactly what and how the feature was supposed to run which made the feature sound even more impressive then it was since building a robot isn't as easy as it sounds and it really brings out what went behind that. Another thing is I always tried to make up for a faulty project with a positive presentation, whatever happened, I'd keep smiling and explain the solution, there could be a murder going on behind me but I'd still present with my peak presentation voice and not just for judges, anyone and everyone that saw my project, even outside the event, I will present it to them in the same manner. And that kind of perfected the speeches without even trying or memorising and since I had already faced all sorts of possible reactions, it's basically like reciting a story when the real judges come.

Today, I want to give you some of my best test-taking tips from high school. I'm not the best test-taker in the world, but I'd say I'm pretty good -- and over the years, I've racked up some techniques that I think will be especially helpful for some of the freshmen and sophomores here. ACT/SAT: Just take practice tests. Sit in a quiet room, time yourself, and pretend as if it's the real test. You will improve your score just by understanding the tempo and flow of the test, without actually "learning" material. AP: For AP classes, just get a "steps to a 5" book close to your test. If you complete this book (can grind through it in about a week), you should be locked in for a 5. This allowed me to prioritize research and extracurriculars during the school year, and quickly grind in the few days after ISEF for each of my AP tests. Study rules: 1. Be well-fed. Get good food and make sure you're "full" before doing long study sessions. Helps you get in "deep work" mode. 2. Be in a completely separate room when you're studying. 3. If you procrastinate or waste 5 hours, it doesn't mean you should waste the next 1-2. Stop feeling bad for yourself- just reset (drink water, shower, etc.) and start working again with real effort. Testing rules: 1. Before important tests, take a cold shower. You will shock yourself awake if you were tired, and you will calm yourself down if you were nervous. 2. Use later questions in a test to help you guess answers for earlier questions. 3. When trying to figure out an answer, ask yourself "what concept is my teacher trying to test here" -- and based on that, you can figure out the answer that makes more sense. Deep Work by Cal Newport. Reading this book was super relatable for me. Rather than working 40 hours of 50% effort, I personally work 10 hours at 100% effort. This lets me also do extracurriculars, other academics, and spend time with friends. If you can get into "deep work mode", it's a gamechanger- you'll learn to enjoy the feeling of work and it'll let you succeed in school, competitions, anything really.

Hello there fellow humans! If anyone needs any help in finding resources or in figuring out an answer to a question, you can post your request below, and I will try to answer it. Note: I am most knowledgeable in Math, Physics, Computer Science, Chemistry, and Biology in that order. I am most experienced in finding resources for Math, Computer Science, Physics, Biology/Chemistry in that order